North West police officer in court for ‘altering’ sick note

A 43-year-old Sergeant Kagiso Motlele was released on warning after he allegedly extended a sick note by one day in May.

Motlele, who is stationed at the Madibogo Police Station in North West, was arrested at his workplace and appeared at the Setlagole Periodical Court on Tuesday for fraud.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said the medical practitioner permitted him to stay home for three days to get fit for work, but he fraudulently extended the leave with a day.

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‘Suspicious’

“It is alleged that Motlele, stationed at the Madibogo Police Station, handed a suspicious sick note to his commander in May 2023. The matter was reported to the Provincial Anti-Corruption Investigation Unit (ACIU) for investigation, which confirmed that the accused purportedly altered the sick note and failed to report on duty.”

Motlele will appear before the Atamelang Magistrates’ Court on 7 July 2023.

Image tarnished

Meanwhile, the province’s commissioner – Lieutenant General Sello Kwena has welcomed the arrest and said the sergeant’s actions are absolutely unethical and intolerable as they impacts negatively on service delivery and tarnishes the image of the police service at large.

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More public servants resort to fake sick notes

In 2020, Limpopo’s Provincial Coronavirus Command Council accused some teachers of submitting fake doctor’s certificates on their vulnerability to Covid-19 because of comorbidities to avoid returning to work on 6 July.

In a statement released at the time, the council said education authorities had received more than 700 applications from teachers to be exempt from attending school due to comorbidities, but only 400 had been granted.

The command council said they were seeing suspicious medical certificates being provided with applications “from a certain section of doctors”.

When asked for more clarity, Premier Stan Mathabatha’s spokesperson Kenny Mathivha said: “The Health Department, with the assistance of police, is investigating as it is believed that some of the doctors and the medical certificates are fake”.

Additional reporting by Alex Japho Matlala

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