Two former clerks appeared in separate cases in the Rustenburg Magistrate’s court on September 25, charged with fraud and forgery after the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) arrested them for allegedly using fake matric certificates to secure Department of Education jobs.
The accused, Morwesi Margareth Mokone, 46, and Mankwane Suzan Raleru, 54, are alleged of forging and submitting fake matric certificates while applying for positions in the North West Education Department.
The arrests come after investigation by the Rustenburg-based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit.
Raleru was hired in August 2008 as an Early Childhood Development (ECD) fieldworker at the Kgetleng River APO after allegedly submitting a 1992 matric certificate. However, investigations eventually found that she had written but not passed matric.
"It was discovered during the investigation that the accused submitted a fraudulent matric certificate when applying for the post," said Hawks spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Tinyiko Mathebula. As a result, Raleru earned more than R2.3 million in salary throughout her work.
Mokone’s case is similar. In March 2011, she applied and was hired as an administration assistant at Kana Primary School, claiming to have a matric certificate from 1998.
“Upon conducting an investigation, it was revealed that the accused never sat for matric exams and that she had forged a matric certificate to apply for the post,” said Mathebula. Mokone received more than R2.2 million in salary as a result of the bogus submission.
Both women were granted bail of R10,000 each. Their cases have been postponed until November 14, for further investigation.
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