Cinga Dyantyi says he was shocked when he saw Sizwe Kupelo’s name on a matric certificate which had details, including the barcode and subject symbols, exactly the same as his.
“I do not know how this happened at all and I was shocked to see it,” Dyantyi, a department of health employee working at the Mthatha General Hospital in Mthatha, said in his affidavit.
Dyantyi is from Mlengana village in Libode and went to Mkhankatho JSS and was in the same class as Kupelo. Again, the duo went to Chief Henry Bokleni SSS but were in different classes.
His affidavit was read on Friday at the East London commercial crimes court in the trial of the veteran government communications officer who faces two counts of fraud, two counts of uttering and forgery.
Kupelo, a department of health deputy director of communications and former office of the premier employee, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The matric certificate is at the crux of the case against Kupelo where it’s alleged he submitted a fraudulent certificate to get jobs at the health department and office of the premier
Kupelo allegedly submitted a falsely certified copy of his grade 12 certificate. This has been vehemently denied by him.
According to the charge sheet, Kupelo landed government jobs for which he was paid more than R18m over the course of his career.
He is alleged to have submitted a forged grade 12 certificate when applying for two government posts.
The Dispatch reported that a verification process undertaken by Siyanda Manana, the health department director of communications, revealed that the certificate belonged to Dyantyi.
In his affidavit, read in court by state senior prosecutor advocate Siphamandla Ngxokolo, Dyantyi said on October 10 2021 in the afternoon he was approached by a Captain Mcetywa of the Hawks about a matric certificate with Kupelo’s name.
Dyantyi completed his matric at Chief Henry Bokleni SSS in 1994.
He received his certificate in 1995 with an exemption pass.
He said ever since he received his certificate it had always been with him.
“I never leant it to anybody nor had it been missing at all,” Dyantyi said.
Dyantyi said he was shown a matric certificate by Mcetywa with Kupelo’s name on it.
“I know this person from Mkhankatho JSS. We both went to CH Bokleni High but he left ... before doing the matric. He was my classmate at Mkhankatho, but at C.H Bokleni we were not in the same class ... though we were sort of friends.
“I don’t know where he went to do his matric. When I was looking at his certificate his symbols in subjects were looking exactly the same as mine.
“At the bottom of his certificate there was a barcode that also looked exactly the same as the one on my certificate.
“I wish to also mention that I still have Kupelo’s contact number because we do call each other at times,” he said.
After completing matric, Dyantyi completed a nursing diploma in 2003 and started working as a nurse in 2004 at St Elizabeth Hospital in Lusikisiki, then moved to Port St Johns Health Centre until he moved to Mthatha General Hospital, where he works as a professional nurse.
Kupelo was arrested in 2024 and remains on bail of R30,000, after he handed himself over to the SAPS in East London in April last year. He remains in the employ of the health department.
The trial continues.
Daily Dispatch
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