Fake medical degree lands former Northdale Hospital intern in court

A 39-year-old man accused of using a fraudulent medical degree to register as a doctor and work as an intern at Northdale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg has been released on warning following his first appearance in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court.

Reshal Dayanand briefly appeared in court on Wednesday facing charges of fraud, forgery, contravening the Health Professions Act and contravening the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act.

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KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo said Dayanand was released on warning and the matter was postponed to November 19, 2026.

Mhlongo said Dayanand was a University of KwaZulu-Natal student from 2007 to 2015 but did not complete his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree.

According to police, he was academically excluded in 2013 because of poor performance but was re-admitted in 2015 at the dean’s discretion.

However, Dayanand allegedly failed to complete one outstanding module required for the degree.

Alleged fake medical qualification

Despite not completing the degree, Dayanand allegedly managed to fraudulently register with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) as a doctor.

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He was subsequently placed as an intern doctor at Northdale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg in 2016.

Mhlongo said Dayanand earned R637 087,75 during his time as an intern.

For allegedly concealing the fact that he had not completed his studies, Dayanand is accused of colluding with an unidentified UKZN official to generate a fraudulent academic record showing that he had passed all the required modules.

Police also allege that a fraudulent MBChB degree certificate was generated, despite Dayanand not attending a graduation ceremony.

The matter was subsequently reported to the Hawks in Durban, which conducted an intensive, prosecution-guided investigation.

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Relevant stakeholders were consulted during the investigation and confirmed that Dayanand had not met the requirements for the MBChB degree prescribed by UKZN, according to police.

Mhlongo said this resulted in Dayanand being criminally charged.

Court appearance

Dayanand appeared in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Wednesday and was released on warning.

The matter was postponed to November 19.

KZN Acting Provincial Head Brigadier Zenobia Mulligan welcomed the arrest and commended the investigating team for its work.