KUGOMPO CITY - Eastern Cape government official Sizwe Kupelo's lawyer said because he was headhunted, there was no need to produce qualifications.
The Health Department spokesperson, who has been working for the Eastern Cape government since 2002, is accused of securing a job in the provincial government using a fake matric certificate.
His legal team, however, maintains that Kupelo was not required to submit the qualification.
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Magistrate Sardie Jacobs denied his efforts to have the case dismissed due to a lack of evidence earlier this year.
Kupelo told the court that even before his illustrious career in public office, he was a revered journalist and one of the country's top radio presenters.
"I had interaction with former President Mandela. I am probably the first journalist, especially from a community radio, who had an opportunity to sit in a formal interview with a sitting President," Kupelo told the court.
His attorney, Elias Makhanya, said Kupelo was headhunted.
"He was head-hunted because of that experience. He didn't respond to an advert for a position, not at all. I mean, he had a wealth of experience, he was trained overseas, and he was a man who, literally, when he was approached by the Office of the Premier, was towards promoting the broadcasting of conferences and those things and those things need someone from the broadcasting space, he was perfect."
His trial will resume on the 16th of November, with the defence expected to call up two more witnesses.