Thabi Leoka steps down from MTN SA board amid qualifications row

Economist and former Remgro director Thabi Leoka has resigned from the board of MTN SA amid questions over her PhD from the London School of Economics (LSE).

MTN made the announcement on Monday.

Leoka’s resignation from the MTN board comes shortly after Anglo American Platinum declared that she had stepped down from its board to attend to her health and allegations of fake qualifications.

“MTN South Africa today accepted the resignation of independent non-executive director Thabi Leoka, effective immediately.”

Mistruths

Leoka, currently in the US undergoing medical treatment for glaucoma, joined the board of the MTN Group subsidiary in 2019.

News of Leoka’s alleged mistruths about whether or not she obtained a PhD led the local financial news headlines last week and brought into question the effectiveness of screening and vetting processes for senior leadership board appointments in corporate SA.

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Leoka continues to maintain that she completed her studies at LSE and was awarded a doctorate in economics in 2008, according to Moneyweb.

Her curriculum vitae claims she has earned several degrees.

Vendetta

Leoka’s response to the allegations is that they were started by somebody who has a “personal vendetta” against her.

In an interview with 702 last week, Leoka she said this person first contacted Daily Maverick in December 2023, and then sought out Business Day after Daily Maverick did not publish the allegations against her.

Leoka claimed the reason people have not been able to find her PhD record is because they have been using the wrong names for the search, she said.

Consequences

According to a government gazette published on 29 March 2018, Leoka did change her name from Bathabile Leoka to Thabi Leoka.

Last week, the Presidency also requested Leoka to come clean and address the matter of her qualifications, “in the interest of transparency”.

Leoka faces serious consequences if the allegations are found to be true.

Under the National Qualifications Framework Amendment Act, which kicked in late last year, it is an offence to “knowingly provide false or misleading information” about academic qualifications.

Additonal reporting by Vhahangwele Nemakonde

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