Algoa FM news
The trial of 27-year-old fraud accused, Asisipho Mbekela, who allegedly misled the Eastern Cape Health Department about obtaining her qualification as a radiographer, continued in the PE Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Friday where the state called two more witnesses.
Mbekela, who hails from Mthatha, claims that she graduated from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) in 2016, however, the State alleges that she had lied about her qualification and failed dismally, only passing one of her four final year subjects.
The two new state witnesses were from CPUT's faculty of Medical Imaging and Therapeutic Sciences who taught and supervised the accused throughout her final year studies at the institution in 2015.
Geraldine Philotheou, a retired lecturer, with 35 years of experience in radiology, and Asisipho's former lecturer in the three final year modules which she failed, was the first to take to the stand.
She detailed the academic progress of the accused, telling the court that she failed to hand in several continuous assessment tasks throughout the year, despite routine "interviews" she had regularly with her students to check on their progress.
"My interviews with her were about her academic performance and the lack of handing in her work showed me she was not able to accept responsibility," she said.
Philotheou further corroborated the testimony of another witness, Carolynn Lackay on Thursday, saying that because Mbekela failed more than 50% of her subjects for her final year, she did not qualify for a re-assessment.
On Thursday the court heard, that although the accused appealed the decision to excluded her from the course, the appeal was eventually rejected as she failed to furnish the faculty with proof that suffered from stress and anxiety.
The State's 2nd witness and former Radiography Head of Department, Alladin Speelman, said the same thing.
He said; "There is no way Miss Mbekela could have written a re-assessment as her appeal was rejected. And even if she hypothetically was granted her appeal, she would have repeated her academic year and not written the re-assessment."
Speelman said he "shuddered" to think what her behaviour could have done to the general public as she practised illegally at Livingstone Hospital before being released from her duties in September 2016.
"Nuclear Medicine Radiology is such a specialised field. You need to know what you are doing," he said.
During cross-examination of both witnesses, the defence counsel maintained that his client was granted permission to write a special re-assessment and was invited to the April 2016 graduation by the Institution via email.
At the start of the trial in December 2019, the court heard how Mbekela presented a Graduate Administrator with her results on her cellphone, claiming she had now passed.
This, after Mbekela told her there was no name card allocating her a seat at the graduation ceremony.
State witness, Magda Bauman, told that court that in the haste of the evening's proceeding she thought that a mistake could have been made and then she quickly printed a graduation certificate for the accused.
The trial will continue on 7 June.
