The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) in KwaZulu-Natal is under fire after being accused of deliberately dragging its heels in a criminal case against a bogus doctor who defrauded the provincial Department of Health for more than a decade, reports Mail & Guardian.
Rashal Dayanand apparently raked in an accumulated R637 087.75 from his salary and other allowances while employed by the department, at one stage even being appointed as an acting medical manager.
A whistle-blower told the M&G that “thousands of lives were put in harm’s way … the case has dragged on for close to 10 years. And he continues to live a life of opulence, being absolved of any prosecution”.
The source alleged that despite a probe by the department as far back as 2018, which had found Dayanand in the wrong, it had failed to recoup nearly R1m in salary and other incentives he’d earned while on the payroll.
He had previously been accused of fraudulently obtaining his degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal with the help of corrupt officials operating as a syndicate. The accusations came amid media reports on corruption involving a ring of staff at the university who were paid for placements of students.
A 2018 investigation by the Health Department had concluded that Dayanand did not meet criteria when he was employed by Pietermaritzburg’s Northdale Hospital – and where he was recruited as an intern doctor in October 2015 before officially starting duties in January the next year.
“He registered and studied for a Bachelor of Medicine at UKZN from 2007 but has outstanding modules and did not complete his qualification. His name was not part of the 2016 graduation list, the year he claims to have completed his degree. He submitted fraudulent medical degree records when he was employed or during his employment by the KZN Department of Health,” found the investigation.
In his application, Dayanand had claimed he had completed his degree, but a university official giving evidence during the probe confirmed that although he had registered, he had outstanding subjects in his academic record.
The VP Justice Foundation, which has been aggressively pushing for Dayanand to face the consequences, has asserted he was being protected by high-ranking politicians and key role players in the justice sector.
Spokesman Visham Panday said it was a case not only of fraud but of medical negligence.
“The failure of the law enforcement agencies to prosecute him means they are being complicit …the matter dates back to 2018 through an investigation by the provincial department, and the university also confirmed he actually lied about obtaining a degree. It was also established beyond reasonable doubts that when he was employed as an intern, he misrepresented his credentials – but nothing has been done.”
Panday told the M&G that Dayanand had also worked at another public health facility, Port Shepstone Hospital, before moving to Northdale Hospital.
The matter of the apparent dragging out of the case was also reported to the Office of the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation Judge, an independent oversight body responsible for investigating public complaints against the Hawks.
In a letter to the acting national head of the Hawks Lieutenant-General Siphesihle Nkosi, Charmaine Marshall, the Director at the Office of the DCPI Judge, raised grave concerns.
“The urgent finalisation of the investigation relating to possible falsification of the qualification is critical and urgent. The effect would be that …the public represented by our complainant are at serious risk of harm,” she wrote.
Colonel Katlego Mogale, Hawks spokesperson, told the M&G: “The investigation was finalised and handed to the prosecution for a decision.”
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Medical intern with forged degree loses case to finish studies
‘Intern’ who posed as doctor wants court to let him finish degree
Fake doctors: Improve job screening KZN Health tells hospitals