Bogus radiographer slapped with 2000 hours of weekend jail time

Asisipho Mbekela, 27, was sentenced by Magistrate Lionel Lindoor on Wednesday, and will have to report to Correctional Services every Friday at 16:00 and be released on Sunday evenings.

A bogus radiographer has been sentenced to 2000 hours imprisonment in East London. Picture: iStock

The Commercial Crimes Court in Gqeberha has handed down 2000 hours of weekend imprisonment to a woman from Mthatha who practised with a fraudulent radiographer qualification.

Asisipho Mbekela, 27, was sentenced by Magistrate Lionel Lindoor on Wednesday, and will have to report to Correctional Services every Friday at 16:00 and be released on Sunday evenings.

She was found guilty on three counts of fraud and two of forgery for lying about her qualifications and working at Livingstone Hospital for six months.

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During the trial, Mbekela claimed to have specialized in “Radiography Nuclear Med”. However, the court found this was false and she was a threat to patients.

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State prosecutor Siebert Baartman argued that “fraud, corruption, and white-collar crimes are a tsunami that has engulfed this country.”

Bogus doctors

Several cases of alleged bogus doctors have hit the headlines in recent weeks.

Last week saw calls for Democratic Alliance (DA) ward councillor Abdulkader Elyasto to be removed after his credentials did not match up.

On his LinkedIn profile, the Cape Town councillor claims to have studied at the University of Cape Town (UCT) for a Bachelor of Business Science in actuarial science in 2015 and 2018, as well as for a medical degree from 2013 to 2018.

News24, however, reported Elyas did not obtain these qualifications.

The Health Professionals Council of South Africa (HPCSA) also confirmed to the publication that the DA councillor did not feature on the register for health practitioners.

Elyasto told IOL: “It is common cause that I was a medical student, not a medical doctor. The relevant information is with the DA. We are at the height of internal congress contestation in the province.”

It followed the arrest and release of social media “doctor” Matthew Lani, who was alleged to have impersonated a medical professional.

The Gauteng Department of Health opened a criminal case against him for impersonating Dr Sanele Zingelwa, which he claimed was his “legal name” registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).

He appeared at the Johannesburg Magistrates Court on 31 October.

The case was not enrolled before court after prosecutors cited a lack of evidence against him.

“We have wise prosecutors who went through the docket and they concurred with us that there is no case against him and, as a result, the charges against him have been withdrawn.

“However, there will be possible investigations and if there are any developments on the matter, the matter can be reinstated at a later stage,” Lani’s attorney Dumisani Mabunda said.

Additional reporting by Cornelia Le Roux and Faizel Patel