“Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive,” said Pietermaritzburg high court judge Rob Mossop, quoting Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott.
The quote was referenced in a legal matter involving a former employee of Umgeni Water who lied about having a chemical engineering degree. He was ordered to repay the R2.2m he earned over the eight years he worked there.
The matter before Mossop was a claim by Umgeni Water against Sheldon Naidoo who, the KwaZulu-Natal bulk water supplier said, would never have been hired if it was known his BSc degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) was fake.
Naidoo was first employed in a graduate development programme in 2008.
He resigned in November 2016 after questions were raised about his qualifications.
During the trial, MD of Umgeni Water Services Peter Thompson, Naidoo’s first boss, said his qualifications were not validated when he was hired.
When Naidoo applied for a process technician position in 2016, his degree certificate and academic transcript reflecting the subjects he studied and marks achieved were sent for verification.
The university said it had no record of a degree being conferred.
Thompson said he initially believed there was a mistake. He asked Naidoo to give him something tangible to prove he had the degree, even graduation photographs or family snaps of the occasion. He also asked for the names of students he worked with on his final project.
While first indicating he would get the photographs, Naidoo later told Thompson he did not attend his graduation because of illness. He never supplied the names of those he worked with in his final year.
Facing disciplinary action, Naidoo resigned.
Nonhlanhla Mofokeng, acting head of central student records at the university, told the court the degree certificate Naidoo presented to Umgeni Water — in terms of when the 2008 engineering graduation ceremony took place — reflected the wrong date.
University records, she said, showed he commenced studying for a chemical engineering degree in 2002, but was excluded in 2004 because he did not make progress.
Naidoo insisted he graduated in 2007, and the documents had been given to him by the university.
He said he should not have to repay the money because he had rendered a service.
Under cross-examination, it was put to him that the academic records relied upon by Umgeni Water and confirmed as accurate by Mofokeng were substantially different from his.
The subjects in both documents were the same, but the results different in every instance.
Mossop said: “When asked to explain this, Naidoo was forced to concede the obvious, namely that they are the results of two different students. Yet both results bear his name and his student number. One is a forgery. The question must then be asked: who has the greater incentive to forge these academic results?”
The judge said Thompson was a good witness. Initially he believed in Naidoo and was more than prepared to assist him.
Naidoo, on the other hand, “had an answer for every question, even if the answer was weak in content”.
“He was unimpressive ... I have no doubt he was an untruthful witness. I must conclude that the degree he claims to be his is a forgery. He could not have acquired his (four-year) degree with the marks he received in the three years he spent there before being excluded.”
Mossop said Umgeni Water was entitled to repayment.
“The indisputable facts reveal that Naidoo set out to deceive and wove his web accordingly. He achieved his goal. He has now become entangled in a web that he alone devised and cannot now be heard to complain of the consequences that must follow,” he said.
Mossop granted judgment in favour of Umgeni Water for R2,203,565, with interest, and declared it could attach Naidoo’s pension money.
He also ordered that Naidoo pay punitive costs.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.