African National Congress (ANC) Limpopo spokesperson Jimmy Machaka has taken Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) Dr David “Che” Selane to task over his claims that party members were a bunch of academic fraudsters.
Machaka says the former provincial ANC Youth League secretary’s (ANCYL) claims were not only damaging to the governing party’s reputation, but also “reckless, malicious, baseless”.
This is the latest salvo in a longstanding political rivalry and bad blood between Machaka and Selane dating back to their stints in the youth league. The two fell out in 2017 after Selane suspended Machaka from the ANCYL, with the court later reinstating him.
In an interview with a local podcaster, Dr Selane, who holds a Masters of Public Law from the University of Limpopo, alleged that some Limpopo ANC members bought their academic qualifications from private institutions. The former ANC youth leader said the culprits included fellow comrades who were currently serving in the provincial structures. He claimed they cheated the system instead of going through the formal curriculum requirements.
Buying, falsifying or misrepresenting academic documents is a criminal offence in South Africa.
“The reality is that most comrades of the ANC in Limpopo, starting with the PEC, if you ask them which institutions are enrolling or enrolled, you will find that they are from private institutions, private institutions are there for money and profit. They go there with a lot of money and these institutions give them those courses” Dr Selane said.
He added that many of his fellow cadres would be arrested should an investigation be carried out into their academic qualifications.
Dr Selane’s allegations were not taken lightly by Machaka, who said the accusations made a wrong impression about the ANC and undermined the integrity of Limpopo ANC members.
In an interview with a Limpopo-based radio station, Machaka said: “You cannot have an MPL of the ANC, taking on a public platform to undermine and put the organisation and its caucus in the provincial legislature into disrepute, he must explain his utterances before the ANC.”
Machaka said he had written a letter to ANC Provincial Secretary Reuben Madadzhe asking for the party to subject Dr Selane to a disciplinary hearing for undermining the integrity of the ANC.
“Selane should be made to account for his utterances which he made under studio lights, flashes and cameras. should he be found that he breached the ANC constitution rule 25, he should be subjected to the Provincial disciplinary hearing” he added.
Madadzhe is yet to respond to Machaka’s letter.
It’s not the first time ANC leaders faced accusations of academic fraud. In 2023, Eastern Cape ANC Chairperson and Premier was accused of trying to obtain a bogus PhD in public administration from the University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape. He was fingered in a leaked forensic report commissioned by the university. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) also probed allegations that former Public Administration Minister Noxolo Kiviet, also a former Eastern Cape premier, was a beneficiary of fraudulent qualifications.
