The woman who duped the government and three JSE giants

Thabi Leoka, once a prominent economist and respected figure on corporate boards and advisory councils, has faced a dramatic fall from grace following revelations about falsified academic qualifications. 

The JSE recently fined her R500,000 and imposed a five-year ban from holding directorships at listed companies due to her misrepresentation of having a PhD from the London School of Economics (LSE), a claim central to her career trajectory.

Very little is publicly known about Leoka’s background, but according to KingMinds, she was born on 7 February 1978.

She grew up in South Africa and graduated from St. Cyprian’s High School in Kimberley in 1996. 

She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Accounting at the University of the Witwatersrand before pursuing further studies abroad. 

Leoka’s career began at Investec Asset Management in South Africa and London, where she specialized in bonds. 

She later joined Barclays in London, focusing on emerging markets, and subsequently moved back to South Africa, working for respectable institutions like Standard Bank and Renaissance Capital. 

In 2017, the Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals (ABSIP) named her “Economist of the Year”. In 2019, she was appointed to South Africa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council.

She was also appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to the Public Investment Corporation Commission of Inquiry and by the Finance Minister to review zero-rated products to support South Africa’s poor and vulnerable.

Leoka was a non-executive director of SA Express, where she chaired the Stability and Sustainability Committee. She was also involved with Statistics South Africa, where she chaired the Economic Committee. 

Leoka built a reputation as a thought leader in economics. She leveraged her background to secure influential roles.

These achievements were underpinned by her purported doctoral qualification, which added significant weight to her expertise.

Over the years, she has held prestigious roles, including serving on the boards of Anglo American Platinum, MTN South Africa, Netcare, and the Small Business Institute. 

However, her appointment to the board of billionaire Johann Rupert’s Remgro in March 2023 would mark the start of her fall from grace.

The debacle started after Remgro withdrew her appointment as a director before its AGM in December 2023. 

When Remgro announced the withdrawal, the company removed the “Dr” title from Leoka’s name, which was initially used to announce her appointment.

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

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

This raised red flags with some keen observers, but the issue became widespread when BusinessDay reported in January this year that Leoka allegedly does not hold a PhD in economics from the LSE as she claimed.

An LSE spokesperson told the publication 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.

This allegation spread like wildfire, and soon, most major news outlets in the country ran the story.

Throughout this scrutiny, 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.

Despite repeated opportunities to provide documentation supporting her claim of a PhD from the LSE, Leoka failed to produce credible evidence of her qualification. 

This non-cooperation, compounded by her falsified declarations to companies and the JSE, was deemed a severe breach of corporate governance principles. 

Consequently, Leoka resigned from all her board positions and was removed from the presidential advisory council​.

Recently, this issue made headlines again when the JSE announced via SENS in November that it has fined Leoka R500,000 and banned her from holding directorships at listed companies for five years. 

The JSE explained 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 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 South Africa and Anglo American Platinum, 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.

This censure hit the final nail in Leoka’s mystery PhD coffin, and she has yet to respond to the news.

On 19 November, the Institute of Directors in South Africa (IoDSA) emphasised the critical importance of verifying directors’ qualifications, particularly in light of Leoka’s case.

IoDSA CEO Professor Parmi Natesan highlighted the ethical breach, calling for stronger accountability and better governance practices among companies and individuals.

Natesan warned against the societal mindset that undermines accountability, where some argue that performance justifies deceit. 

She explained that misrepresentation not only damages trust in leadership but also perpetuates inequality by disadvantaging more qualified candidates.

IoDSA also pointed out that such misrepresentation violates South Africa’s National Qualifications Framework Amendment Act, which criminalises fraudulent claims of qualifications.

The IoDSA further criticised the companies involved for failing to verify Leoka’s credentials, labelling it a lapse in governance. 

Performing due diligence, as recommended by the King IV Code, is essential to maintaining trust and integrity in leadership. 

Interestingly, Natesan noted that a PhD is not a requirement for directorships, meaning Leoka could have been appointed and stayed on these boards based on her actual qualifications and experience if she had been truthful​.