Disgraced Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH) Director of Marketing, Communications and Registration Geoffrey Seleka has resigned from the organization.
Seleka tendered his resignation while he was still on suspension pending disciplinary hearing into a matter he was found to have padded his Curriculum Vitae with fake academic qualifications.
Seleka’s troubles with his employer started after Sunday Standard investigated his PhD qualification in Science, Information and Technology, from Rochville University. The investigations revealed that Rochville University was an unaccredited online university that is notorious for selling fake educational credentials and has no listed physical address. The university’s operations have since been declared illegal in the US and its diploma and degree certificates are mailed from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. At the time of the investigation, Seleka had told this publication that he was not aware that Rochville University was not accredited and had been classified an illegal institution in the U.S. He however failed to provide contacts and physical address for the university that conferred him the Doctorate degree despite having claimed he physically registered at the university during enrolment. He also couldn’t answer questions whether the certificate was mailed to him or whether he physically attended the graduation. Rochville is famous in the U.S. for being ‘the university that conferred an MBA Degree on a dog’. In 2009, an organization called GetEducated Consumer Reporting Team, which investigates bogus institutions of learning, applied for MBA degree at Rochville University using the name of their dog, Chester Ludlow and paid $499 online. A week later, Rochville University sent an express package from a post office box in Dubai. The package contained Chester’s MBA degree, two sets of college transcript, a certificate of distinction in finance and a certificate of membership in the student council. The dog had earned a GPA of 3.19. As bonus, Chester also received a Rochville University window decal for his car (the poor dog doesn’t own a car nor can it drive one).
Following the Sunday Standard expose, BIH succumbed to pressure and suspended Seleka from duty pending a disciplinary hearing. However, reports indicate that he chose to resign from his plum post before investigations could be concluded and a hearing convened. Botswana Innovation Hub Public Relations Manager Tigele Mokobi confirmed Selaka’s resignation but could not dwell more on the issue. “In view of the employer/employee privileges, I regret that I am not in a position to say more on this matter other than confirm his resignation,” he said.
