Thabi Leoka, a once-respected South African economist, is at the centre of a qualifications scandal and amid questions about her credentials, a PhD certificate brandishing her full name, supposedly issued by the London School of Economics has surfaced online.
Is the Thabi Leoka PhD certificate real or fake?
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Leoka’s reputation hangs in the balance after Business Day published a shocking exposé, accusing the commerce thought leader of faking her PhD qualifications.
The publication released the damning report following Leoka’s recent appointment as an independent non-executive director of Remgro Limited.
In a bid to disassociate its brand from Leoka, the investment company released a statement clarifying that the economist’s appointment, made in 2023, was not ratified at an annual general meeting on 4 December.
“Remgro’s values are central to the culture of ethical and moral behaviour and compliance. To ensure that these values are upheld, the Board recognizes the need to ensure rigor in the process of electing and nominating members to the directorate,” the company’s statement read.
Amid the public turmoil, a copy of a PhD certificate, supposedly issued by LSE surfaced online, with Leoka’s particulars.
While a formal statement has yet to surface from her camp, it’s widely believed the document, which you can see below, was doctored as part of a hoax to smear Leoka’s reputation further.
Leoka, in a recent radio interview with Clement Manyathela, vehemently dismissed Business Day‘s claims, threatening to sue the publication for defamation.
She also indicated that LSE finding no record of her name on their PhD registry was due to a mix-up with her actual name.
According to the economist, she had registered at the esteemed UK-based institution after she had changed her name at Home Affairs. Moreover, her departure from Remgro had more to do with her ill health than a procedural renomination she supposedly lost.
Leoka made it clear this was an orchestrated smear campaign spearheaded by powerful forces who had apparently sent the Daily Maverick sniffing around her educational background.
“I was surprised but also I was told by my lawyer that what typically happens in these situations is that someone will merchandise the story. So if a publication or a newspaper doesn’t want to publicise the article, then that person will go somewhere else until they find joy in their mission, and that is having that story publicised. That seems to be what has happened,” she said.
When this article was published, Leoka was in the United States (US) treating a case of degenerative glaucoma.