Thabi Leoka slapped with R500,000 fine for mystery PhD

Economist Thabi Leoka, who came under fire at the start of this year for allegedly lying about obtaining a PhD from the London School of Economics (LSE), has been fined R500,000.

In addition, Leoka has been disqualified from holding the office of a director or officer of a company listed on the JSE for five years.

Leoka resigned from her board positions at JSE-listed companies MTN and Anglo American in January this year following numerous reports and allegations that she lied about obtaining a PhD from the LSE.

The debacle started after Remgro withdrew her appointment as a director before its AGM in December 2023. When Remgro announced that Leoka’s appointment had been withdrawn, they dropped the “Dr” title from her name.

“The appointment of director Thabi Leoka was withdrawn at the AGM and therefore not voted on,” it said.

“The director has advised the Board that she is no longer available to serve as an independent non-executive director of the company”.

BusinessDay later reported that Leoka allegedly does not hold a PhD in economics from LSE as she claimed.

Leoka maintained that the allegation that she does not have a PhD from LSE is unfounded. She also provided News24 with an LSE PhD degree document. However, this document has yet to be verified. 

An LSE spokesperson also told BusinessDay that Leoka had not obtained a PhD from the university. “We have checked our files and can find no record of Thabi Leoka being awarded a PhD from LSE,” the spokesperson said.

Leoka has also served on the board of private healthcare group Netcare and was appointed to the presidential economic advisory council and the commission of inquiry into the Public Investment Corporation in 2019. 

On Friday, 15 November, the JSE announced via SENS that, in light of the media reports, it engaged with Leoka and afforded her ample time and opportunities to make submissions and respond to the allegations regarding the authenticity of her PhD qualification. 

With supporting documentation, Leoka was further requested to confirm the assertions included in her CV and Schedule 13 declarations that she possessed a PhD in Economics obtained from the LSE in 2008.

Despite these numerous opportunities afforded to Leoka to provide the JSE with substantive confirmation that she does, in fact, hold a PhD qualification, Leoka failed to make any submissions that would refute the specific claims that she made false statements.

“The facts and information at the JSE’s disposal, including Ms. Leoka’s failure to respond and the JSE’s efforts to verify the information, indicate that Leoka’s statements that she holds a PhD in Economics were false,” the exchange said. 

The JSE explained that, when Leoka first applied to the boards of Remgro, MTN and Anglo American, she provided them with this allegedly false information.

“As a result of these false statements and misrepresentation, the companies, in turn, published Leoka’s incorrect information in respect of her academic qualification in the Companies’ Disclosures,” the JSE said.

The JSE requires that everyone involved in sharing information with investors or the public act carefully to build trust in transparency and good governance within listed companies.

Therefore, the JSE found that Leoka violated these rules by misrepresenting her academic qualifications in her CV and in formal documents sent to the JSE, which were then incorrectly included in company disclosures. 

She also refused to respond to regulatory questions, hindering the JSE’s investigation.

The exchange said that Leoka was expected to uphold high standards of honesty, transparency, and ethical behaviour as a director, especially of a listed company.

It said her misrepresentation and lack of cooperation with the JSE raised serious concerns about her integrity and suitability to serve as a director. 

In addition, it said her ongoing disregard for the JSE’s efforts to address these issues shows a concerning lack of accountability in her duties to the JSE, the companies, and the investing public.

Therefore, the JSE decided to impose the following penalties on Leoka:

• A public censure and a fine of R500,000
• Immediate disqualification from holding the office of a director or officer of a company listed on the JSE for a period of five years

“Any director, and especially a director of a listed company, must be held to the highest standards of corporate governance, compliance, transparency, and ethical behaviour, with a duty to always act in the best interests of the company, taking cognizance of its stakeholders, and the broader market,” the exchange said.