Fake Doctor Sentenced to Five Years in Prison.

An Eastern Cape woman who posed as a medical practitioner has been sentenced to an effective five years in prison for fraud, theft and contravening the Medicines and Related Substances Act.

Mandisa Raxangana was sentenced in the Tarkastad Regional Court this week, more than five years after her arrest.

Hawks spokesperson Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana said Raxangana and her husband, Anda Mxhalisa, were arrested in 2021 following an undercover operation by the Komani Hawks targeting fraudulent medical activities in Molteno.

Police recovered marked operation funds from Mxhalisa, who worked as her receptionist, along with medicines and syringes. Both were released on R10 000 bail.

Mxhalisa was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for three years, for contravening the Medicines Act.

According to the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), Raxangana dispensed medication without a valid licence and used a false registration number on medical certificates.

HPCSA spokesperson Priscilla Sekhonyana said Raxangana enrolled as a medical student at Walter Sisulu University in 2003 but failed all her modules and dropped out.

She began practising in January 2019 alongside her husband, who also consulted patients despite not being registered with the council.

Mhlakuvana said the sentencing concluded a lengthy investigation into unlawful medical activities and the illegal possession and use of medicines in Molteno.