Hawks arrest EC Health Department spokesperson on charges of ...

Sizwe Kupelo was arrested by the Hawks and appeared in court today on charges of forgery and fraud.

Eastern Cape Health Department spokesperson, Sizwe Kupelo, was arrested and appeared in the Zwelitsha Magistrate's Court today, April 24, on charges of fraud and forgery.

According to a media statement issued by the Hawks, their East London-based Serious Corruption Investigation team arrested Kupelo (47).

He appeared briefly in court and was released on R30,000 bail to reappear in the same court on April 30 for a Regional Court date to be set.

"It is alleged that during the month of March 2002, the suspect Sizwe Kupelo applied for employment at the office of the Premier in Bhisho as a Communication Officer and was successfully employed in April 2002. In November of the same year, he was allegedly appointed by the Department of Health in Bhisho as a Deputy Director of Communications," the statement read.

In 2020, the Department of Health conducted a skills and qualifications audit on all employees appointed by the Department, where it was established that during the time of his employment, Kupelo never had a matric certificate. He instead allegedly submitted a fraudulent certificate during his employment.

"The matter was referred by the Department of Health to the Hawks for a thorough probe, which confirmed the allegations," the statement read.

The Eastern Cape Department of Health said in a media statement it has noted the arrest and subsequent release on bail of its official.

"The department welcomes any move that promotes good and clean governance. However, because this is now a criminal matter handled by the elite crime fighting unit, the department cannot and will not comment further on the matter. The department will cooperate with any investigation that seeks to strengthen the integrity of the services that we render to the people of the Eastern Cape," the EC Health Department's statement read.