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A 38-year-old Eastern Cape woman has been sentenced to an effective four years in jail for running an unregistered nursing school.
The National Prosecuting Authority said Afika Mabongo, was sentenced to a total of eight years behind bars in the Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday, however, four years of the sentence were suspended.
Mabonga was arrested by the Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigations in April 2021, after her estranged husband blew the whistle and became the state’s key witness in terms of Section 204 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
NPA spokesperson, Luxolo Tyali, says Mabongo opened her business, MA-B Training Academy and Other Services, in 2009 and was the sole director.
He said from 2012 she operated the company as a nursing college in the district of Mthatha, charging unsuspecting trainees between R3000 and R8000.
Tyali said, “the fake nursing college” offered 13 courses that did not have the necessary accreditation and Mabongo, who is neither qualified as a teacher nor a lecturer, provided the training, and also issued fraudulent certificates.
He said these certificates were stamped with accreditation from the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA).”
