A FORMER St Patricks hospital lab technician in Hwange has been jailed for forging medical certificates for those seeking certificates of physical fitness. Boniface Ndlovu, 39, of C226, Lwendulu village in Hwange would use a fake signature and stamp to issue the fake medical certificates at an undisclosed fee. He would misrepresent himself as an employee of his former employer, St Patricks Hospital.
It is not known how many people were duped by Ndlovu in fraudulently acquiring the documents which are mostly sought by public service vehicle drivers. However, lady luck ran out for Ndlovu when one of his clients sought verification of the certificate with an undersigned doctor. Ndlovu, who pleaded not guilty to forgery, was sentenced to seven months in prison by Provincial magistrate Sharon Rosemani last Friday.
In passing sentence, Rosemani said she took into consideration that Ndlovu was once convicted of forging a birth record while he was still working for the same hospital as a lab technician before his dismissal. At that time, he was sentenced to four months in prison which were suspended for community service for facilitating the acquisition of a fake birth record for a child born in South Africa.
Prosecuting, Alfred Mzizi said on May 9 this year at around 11AM, Ndlovu gave Robson Mwale a forged certificate of physical fitness who then passed it on to Abokoe Sandra Mabanga. Mwale has since been convicted of the same offence.
After facing challenges in explaining certain sections of the documents, Mabanga decided to take the certificate to Claudious Mache, a doctor at St Patricks hospital for verification.
“The doctor then discovered that the certificate was issued in his name but he had never examined the holder. On further examining the certificate, the doctor discovered that his signature was forged and that the stamp used was not genuine as it didn’t conform to the actual date stamp used by the hospital,” said Mzizi. The matter was reported to the police leading to the arrest of Ndlovu and his accomplice, Mwale.
- Chronicle
0