What should be done with Mohau Pheko?

I am a South African living in Japan. As such, I am a member of a very small minority. For many people, I am the only South African they have ever met... and perhaps the last. I am an ambassador for my country. I try to portray an accurate picture of South Africa by acknowledging our weak points and rejoicing in the miraculous revolution that has occurred in South Africa during my lifetime.

The Rise

A few weeks ago, I was so proud of South Africa's ambassador to Japan, Ms Mohau Pheko. She responded eloquently and unapologetically to a pro-apartheid comment made by Ayako Sono, an adviser to Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe. (You can read the JapanTimes.co.jp article titled South African ambassador slams Sankei op-ed by Sono praising apartheid).

In her bold and unambiguous letter Ms Pheko wrote, 

"Apartheid is a crime against humanity. It can never be justified in the 21st century to deliberately discriminate against other human beings anywhere in the world on the basis of skin color or any other classification."

(I've included images of her letter below, which the South African embassy shared on Facebook.)

Letter from Ms Pheko: Page 1

Letter from Ms Pheko: Page 2

The Fall

But my pride has turned to such bitter disappointment...

A few weeks later, I read an article on the FinancialTimes.co.za, titled "International Relations: Degrees of Diplomacy", in which the author accuses our ambassador of claiming to have a PhD; which she doesn't have.

One shouldn't trust everything you find on the internet at face-value, so I decided to google the information to verify that these allegations are true. After a quick search I found a copy of Mohau Pheko's Curriculum Vitae in which, clear as day, it's says

• 1994: MSc - Development Economics - NYU of Continuing and Professional Studies [Completed 30 credits out of 36]
• 2000: PhD - International Relations - LaSalle University, Louisiana

Recently, a podcast "Mohau Pheko regrets claiming she has a PhD" published by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reports that Ms Pheko has subsequently admitted that she didn't complete her PhD.

Battles Won

I'm not writing this little article because I'm on a witch-hunt. I'm writing this article because we have cancer within the organs of our society. In fact, we have more than one.

Of course, racism is, and continues to be, a significant cancer in our country; but we have turned the corner in that fight. I believe we have won that war. Although the path to recovery is steep and winding, at very least we are walking in the right direction.

We should celebrate our recent victory and dedicate ourselves to remembering our bitter journey, as a reminder to the world that apartheid is evil; but we must continue to be vigilant, because there are other kinds of cancers that can destroy us. And I fear that a new cancer is rising...

The Rising Cancer

The "rising cancer" I'm talking about, is an apathy towards the corruption taking place in our country.

A quick Google search defines fraud as:

Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain. 

And fraud, to the best of my knowledge, is still a crime, isn't it?

And yet when the Democratic Alliance, a political party in South Africa, calls for the suspension of the our ambassador, on grounds of fraud, our presidency seems to respond with apathy. In fact, it seems that we can deduce that parts of the government knew about this since 2010. An article from FinancialTimes.co.za says that Ms Pheko had to resubmit her application for the position of ambassador to Canada because her academic qualifications were flagged as suspicious. According to the article, these suspicions was reported to "officials in Pretoria".

So assuming that this information is correct, let's simplify and summarize the situation as follows:

1. A criminal act of fraud was committed by Ms Pheko.
2. The government came to know about this fraudulent act.
3. The government didn't prosecute Ms Pheko.
4. The government became an accomplice in the propagation of this deception, by not insisting that she drop the title.

What can we do?

And here is the biggest problem: Many South African's seem to think that this response by government is acceptable. I observe that this is true because there seems to be so little reaction from the public to news like this.

Not so long ago, the people of South Africa demanded an end to apartheid. The people danced. The people sang. The people stood united. They demanded... and yes, people suffered. But I wonder... Where is your dancing now South Africa? Where is your singing? Or can you only sing songs for which you already know the lyrics?

Closing Comments

Well, Ms Pheko. It's a giant pity isn't it? Because I think you can do the job. I can't help but wonder who convinced you that you weren't good enough without that piece of paper?

I must however disagree with one part of your earlier comment though. You said, 

"It can never be justified in the 21st century to deliberately discriminate against other human beings anywhere in the world on the basis of skin color or any other classification".

I've edited your statement above to show what I agree with.

The goal of our generation is not to rid the world of discrimination; but rather unfair discrimination. It's common sense that the blind should not drive. In the same way, an unqualified doctor shouldn't operate. And those without integrity shouldn't be in positions of leadership.

The truly tragic thing is... As a citizen of South Africa, I never needed my leaders to have PhD degrees...

But the one thing I do demand of our leaders... is integrity.