By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Embattled economist Thabi Leoka has now resigned as a non-executive director of MTN South Africa with immediate effect. This, in the wake of PhD saga.
Leoka has been facing questions about whether she received a PhD in economics and economic history in 2008 from the London School of Economics (LSE).
The LSE and the University of London have confirmed that they have no record of Leoka being awarded a PhD from either body.
Leoka, who holds a Master’s Degree from the institution, claimed her name cannot be found among PhD graduates because she changed her name at Home Affairs.
She promised to prove that she does hold a PhD from the London School of Economics.
Earlier on Monday, she resigned from her positions as a non-executive director and board member at Anglo American Platinum.
Both companies have confirmed her resignation, with both saying she wanted to attend to questions regarding her academic qualifications and her health.
In a statement released on Monday, MTN said it had accepted the resignation of independent non-executive director Leoka, effective immediately.
“Leoka joined the board of the MTN Group subsidiary in 2019. She resigned to attend to her health and the questions she has been facing concerning her academic qualifications,” the company further stated.
Leoka joins a growing list of high-profile people in South Africa who have falsified their qualifications. In 2014, ANC veteran Pallo Jordan was exposed for not having the doctorate he claimed from LSE. The following year, it was revealed that South Africa’s ambassador to Japan, Mohau Pheko, did not have the doctorate she claimed.
More recently, former DA Western Cape leader Bonginkosi Madikizela was exposed for not holding a BCom in Human Resource Management from the University of South Africa (Unisa) that he had claimed for years on his CV.
Johannesburg Roads Agency CEO, Tshepo Mahanuke, also claimed to have a Harvard master’s degree that doesn’t exist and demanding that his staff call him “Dr” on the basis of an honorary doctorate that can be purchased for a small donation.
In 2018, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) received 982 reports of fraudulent qualifications.
Leoka’s MSc from LSE and her MA from the University of Witwatersrand are undisputed, and professionals agreed that she did not need a doctorate behind her to give her credibility.