The University of Johannesburg (UJ) has been trending since the news of Joel Sangweni, a man who claimed to be a lecturer at the institution, said he intentionally fails South African students.
In a social media post recently [Facebook], Sangweni said he purposefully fails South African students while making sure Zimbabwean students graduate with distinctions.
Made explosive claims on social media
“We don’t make money here, I’m a lecturer, I will make your kids suffer and fail. Those from Zimbabwe will pass with distinctions,” Sangweni posted.
This caused a huge social media commotion, where several individuals demanded ansers from the institution.
UJ has since issued a statement saying it is aware of social media posts by Joel Sangweni, who falsely claims to be a lecturer at the institution, and they distanced the university from Sangweni.
According to the institution, Sangweni was not a lecturer but a tutor.
“Mr Sangweni is not employed by the university in any capacity. He briefly served as a tutor in 2024,” said the statement.
Claimed account was hacked
The statement further revealed that Sangweni claimed that his account was hacked. However, the institution stated that they are investigating the matter.
“The University remains committed to academic integrity and does not tolerate conduct that undermines its values. The university takes academic integrity seriously. And [we] will take strong steps, including legal action, against any person who, by omission or commission, undermines its commitment to academic integrity,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, in January, Sunday World reported on self-proclaimed prophet Zimbabwean Walter Magaya. He claimed that he holds a degree from the University of South Africa (Unisa).
Unisa exposes prophet for lying
However, Unisa exposed the prophet as a liar.
Unisa disclosed that its system could not find any records demonstrating Magaya’s registration. No record of graduation from the institution was found either.
“The institution strongly disapproves of this untrue statement. [Unisa] has never awarded Mr Magaya an honorary doctorate,” Unisa said.
“This basically suggests that Mr Magaya is not a student or a graduate of Unisa. Therefore, any certificate or certificates he presents that purport to be from Unisa are fake.”
