The man who had been chief engineer at South Africa’s state-owned passenger rail company has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for faking his qualifications.

Once hailed for his successful career, Daniel Mthimkhulu was head of engineering at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) for five years - earning an annual salary of about 2.8m rand ($156,000; £119,000).

On his CV, the 49-year-old claimed to have had several mechanical engineering qualifications, including a degree from South Africa’s respected Witwatersrand University as well as a doctorate from a German university.

However, the court in Johannesburg heard that he had only completed his high-school education.

“The sentence sends a strong message that the perpetrators of white-collar crime will not go unpunished," said Phindi Mjonondwane, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

Mthimkhulu was arrested in July 2015 shortly after his web of lies began to unravel.

He had started working at Prasa 15 years earlier, shooting up the ranks to become chief engineer, thanks to his fake qualifications.

The court also heard how he had forged a job offer letter from a German company, which encouraged Prasa to increase his salary so the agency would not lose him.

He was also at the forefront of a 600m rand deal to buy dozens of new trains from Spain, but they could not be used in South Africa as they were too high.

“The court took into account the seriousness and prevalence of fraud, the significant financial loss to Prasa and Mthimkhulu’s betrayal of his employer’s trust," Ms Mjonondwane said.

In an interview from 2019 with local broadcaster eNCA, Mthimkhulu admitted that he did not have a PhD.

"I failed to correct the perception that I have it. I just became comfortable with the title. I did not foresee any damages as a result of this,” he said.

Lt-Gen Seswantsho Godfrey Lebeya, the head of South Africa’s elite Hawks police unit that helped bring the prosecution, also welcomed the sentence.

“This should serve as a lesson to would be fraudsters that crime doesn’t pay," he said.

The Hawks said this was a case linked to "state capture", a term used in South Africa to describe widespread corruption that occurred under Jacob Zuma when he was president from 2009 until 2018.

Other organisations and those on social media also welcomed the news, with some noting that it highlighted that basic checks needed to be put in place when hiring people.

"Daniel Mthimkhulu's story is proof of a failing administration system," one X user posted.

"Not a lot of companies use qualification verification systems... We definitely have a lot more people working with fraudulent qualifications than we think."

Mthimkhulu is reportedly planning to appeal.