By Teboho Moloi
FREE STATE – A former Free State Department of Health employee has been arrested 14 years after allegedly securing a government job using a fake matric certificate.
The Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation unit arrested 49-year-old Manini Monco-Mahlaku last week on charges of forgery and uttering. She appeared before the Sasolburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday, 24 October, and was released on R5 000 bail.
The case has since been transferred to the Kroonstad Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
According to Free State Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Zweli Mohobeleli, Monco-Mahlaku was appointed as a Basic Ambulance Assistant in July 2011 after applying for the position advertised by the department earlier that year.
“In 2022, information surfaced indicating that she had falsified another person’s matric certificate and submitted it as her own,” said Mohobeleli.
He added that the department suffered a financial loss of more than R2.2 million over the period of her employment. The matter was reported to the Hawks, who obtained a warrant for her arrest.
Monco-Mahlaku resigned from her position in September 2022, but investigators continued tracing her until she was arrested on 23 October 2025.
The Hawks have warned that the arrest serves as a reminder that fraudulent qualifications and corruption in public service will not go unpunished, regardless of how much time has passed.
