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A former senior official at South Africa’s state-owned passenger railway company, PRASA, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday for multiple fraud charges, including faking his engineering qualifications.
Daniel Mtimkulu, 49, who resigned as PRASA’s head of engineering just before his 2015 arrest, was convicted in 2022 of three counts of fraud and forgery. These convictions stemmed from his use of falsified university degrees and a fabricated job offer from a rival company, which led PRASA executives to nearly double his salary.
Mtimkulu received a 15-year sentence for the first fraud count, and six years for each of the other two counts, with the sentences to be served concurrently. The judge also ordered him to repay $323,000 to PRASA, which authorities identified as proceeds from his crimes.
During his tenure, Mtimkulu played a key role in securing a deal worth over $100 million to purchase train locomotives from Spain. These locomotives were later found to be too tall for South Africa’s rail network and could not be used. This contract is one of several PRASA deals linked to alleged bribes and kickbacks.
Investigations have revealed widespread corruption and mismanagement at some of South Africa’s largest state-owned enterprises between 2009 and 2018. A recent report from a special anti-corruption unit estimated that over $7 billion may have been lost to graft within these companies, including PRASA. Mtimkulu had falsely claimed to hold a master’s degree from a South African university and a doctorate in engineering management from a German university.
