Suspended MK Party chief whip Mmabatho Mokoena-Zondi has again been linked to a fake qualification controversy, with old reports showing that the matter once touched eMadlangeni Municipality in Utrecht.
The controversy was first reported 13 years ago by IOL/The Mercury, when Mokoena-Zondi was still known as Seeng Mokoena-Brown and working in local government.
The allegations centred on a fake Bachelor of Commerce degree from Unisa, which was reportedly used to secure senior municipal positions in KwaZulu-Natal.
According to the old report, the same qualification was submitted when she applied for a senior corporate services position at eMadlangeni Municipality, where she secured the post in 2004.
Two years later, in 2006, she was promoted to director of corporate services at the municipality.
She later moved to Ingwe Municipality in Bulwer, outside Pietermaritzburg, where she worked in senior roles before being appointed municipal manager. Her resignation came in 2012 after questions were raised about her qualifications and an investigation was launched.
At the time, Mokoena-Zondi denied knowing about the alleged fake degree. She said she had never studied at Unisa and claimed someone must have attached the qualification to her documents without her knowledge.
She also denied resigning because of the qualification issue, saying she left because of ill-health, stress and internal municipal politics.
The old controversy has resurfaced as Mokoena-Zondi faces a separate fraud case involving more than R200,000 allegedly collected from parliamentary researchers.
In the current matter, she denies enriching herself and says the money was part of a voluntary contribution initiative linked to Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead.
In simple terms: Mokoena-Zondi’s current fraud case has brought fresh attention to a 13-year-old fake qualification scandal that also touched eMadlangeni Municipality in Utrecht.