The Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sentenced Afika Nwabisa Mabongo (38), to eight years imprisonment after convicting her of running an unregistered nursing school. Four of the eight years was suspended for four years on the condition she is not found guilty of a similar offence during that period.
In 2009, Mabongo registered nursing MA-B Training Academy and other Services company, to which she was the sole director, and from the year 2012, she operated the company as a nursing college in the district of Mthatha, charging the unsuspecting trainees between R3000 and R8000. The fake nursing college offered at least 13 courses, without the necessary accreditation. Mabongo, who is not either qualified as teacher or lecturer, provided the training or issued certificates fraudulently stamped with accreditation from Health department and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA). She was arrested by the Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigations (DPCI) in April 2021, after her estranged husband blew the whistle.
During the trial, State Advocate Ayanda Pikwa-Mzantsi led the evidence of her husband, who became the state witness in terms of Section 204 of the Criminal Procedure Act, and representative from HWSETA. Magistrate Shylock Ndengezi found Mabongo guilty on all the eight counts of fraud preferred against her.
