Richards Bay man falsely claimed theological degree to secure R32 000 pastor job

A 52-YEAR-OLD man has been charged with fraud after allegedly falsifying theological qualifications to secure a R32 000 monthly position as pastor at Richards Bay church.

A KZN Department of Education deputy director is also implicated for allegedly validating the fake credentials.

Adriel “Alvin” Abraham, 52, formerly of Durban, together with Silvanus Ramulu, 62, a deputy director for the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, have been charged with fraud, forgery and uttering. 

They were arrested by Lieutenant-Colonel VC Pillay of the Richards Bay SAPS detectives branch in December last year. 

On Tuesday, both accused, who are currently out on bail, made a brief appearance in the Richards Bay Magistrate’s Court. 

The matter was adjourned to March for a regional court date. .  

According to the charge sheet, between April 2024 and June 2025, Abraham was alleged to have unlawfully, falsely, and with the intent to defraud and cause prejudice to Living Stones Baptist Church in Brackenham, Richards Bay, pretended through a fraudulent CV that he had full accreditation as a minister from the Baptist Union of South Africa having studied at the Baptist Theological College. 

He claimed to have studied basic theology, homiletics, church history, and hermeneutics, among various other courses.

According to the charge sheet, in a transcript provided to court by the Baptist Theological College, Abraham did not study for a degree in theology with the college. However, he did one subject in Baptist principles which gave him 12 credits. 

In addition, in an affidavit provided to the court by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), they said a verification for Abraham’s theology degree was done, but was not found. However, they said his identification number revealed that he has a national certificate in financial services: wealth management achieved in 2009 with NQF Level 5. 

The State alleged that through his misrepresentation, Abraham fraudulently induced the church to shortlist him as a candidate, and thereafter appoint him as the pastor, with a salary of R32 000 per month. 

According to the charge sheet, Ramulu, who did not have access to the database of SAQA, checked Abraham’s qualifications through a Google search. 

He thereafter allegedly sent the false document to a member of the church via email as a verification and validation of Abraham’s theological NQ7 qualification citing that he was fully SAQA accredited. 

The State alleged that both accused acted in common purpose.

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