Durban — EThekwini Municipality has allegedly used a fake affidavit to initiate an investigation into the authenticity of the qualifications of its Deputy City Manager for Human Capital, Kim Makhathini.
This was according to Makhathini who furnished the paper with a copy of this document which was allegedly commissioned by a warrant officer, Des Moodley, based at Durban Central police station.
Makhathini says Moodley is investigating her on the charges of fraud that were opened by the City after suspecting that she had misrepresented her qualifications.
Further to this she said that eThekwini’s investigating arm, City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU), has already found her guilty of presenting fake qualifications based on the letter from Damelin, which dismissed her Diploma as authentic.
It was believed that Damelin had provided the City with the same affidavit and the City was relying on the document when the council last month appointed an independent investigator to probe Makhathini’s qualifications.
The City is expected to table the report with findings on Thursday in the full council meeting. The council meeting was scheduled to sit on June 30, but was postponed, apparently to align the tabling of the report.
Makhathini said she found it strange that the City postponed the meeting, which was supposed to table the reports of the financial year just because it wanted to align with the report on her.
For this, the City might be found having irregular expenditure since it is now in the new financial year.
The affidavit appeared to be key in determining whether Makhathini holds fake qualifications or not since it purported to have been signed by Damelin manager Andrew Gilchrist.
The affidavit appeared to have followed the letter that was signed by Gilchrist which the CIIU relied on in findings against Makhathini.
The document, which the paper has seen, bears no name or surname, nor the address of the deponent except the signature.
The commissioner, too, which appeared to be Moodley, did not give his full name nor rank except the signature.
A police stamp which always appears on a normal affidavit by police is missing on the document.
A police officer who did not want to be named said this was not an affidavit from the police.
Police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said the matter was being investigated by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI - Hawks).
Makhathini said she was shocked by the police’s response since she was never investigated by the Hawks, arguing that she had been under investigation by Moodley from day one.
“On Monday, accompanied by my attorney I met Moodley in his office at Durban Central police station. We went there to find out whether it was him who handed over the affidavit to the private investigator who was appointed by the City, and if it was him on what basis he had done so since these are two separate investigations. Moodley denied ever giving the private investigator the affidavit. The reason we asked him was that the private investigator had shown us the affidavit, which was similar to the one Moodley said he obtained from Damelin,” said Makhathini.
Apart from the affidavit, Makhathini said she had been told by the independent investigator that she was in possession of the CIIU report, but refused to share it with her.
She said the independent investigator referred her to the City for the report, saying the one she had already had been marked by her since she was working on it.
Makhathini said she was surprised that the independent investigator was given a report in which she had already been found guilty as part of the independent investigation.
“I know the report that will be tabled on Thursday will find against me because there was never an independent investigation, but the investigator was given the CIIU report just to compile her report based on its findings. The findings against me were predetermined. I will definitely take the report to court for review. I always maintained that there was a witch-hunt against me,” said Makhathini.
“I wish to inform the public that I have qualifications and will fight this to the bitter end to prove my innocence. You do not have to be a police officer to see this affidavit is fake and the findings against me will be based on the same document. To the City I say, we will meet in court,” said Makhathini.
EThekwini Municipality spokesperson Lindiwe Khuzwayo said that since the matter was before an independent investigator the City could not comment until the investigation was finalised.
Attempts to get a comment from Damelin manager Andrew Gilchrist were unsuccessful.
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