Reshal Dayanand, 39, walked into the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Wednesday facing serious charges. He is accused of forging a medical degree to work as an intern at Northdale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg. The 39-year-old South African of Indian descent was released on a warning after his initial appearance.
The deception spans nearly a decade. Dayanand attended the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) from 2007 to 2015 but never completed his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree. He was actually academically excluded in 2013 for failing grades. Despite this, he was readmitted in 2015 through dean’s discretion, yet he still failed one final required module. He never graduated. Yet somehow, he registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and landed an internship in 2016.
Police allege Dayanand conspired with an unnamed UKZN official to create the fraud. They forged an academic transcript showing completed coursework and a fake MBChB degree certificate. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo confirmed the case details to The Witness. The charges include violations of the Health Professions Act and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act.
The legal process is just beginning. The case has been adjourned until November 19, 2026. Until then, Dayanand remains free. The next step will determine whether the forged documents led to further criminal liability or if the hospital and university face scrutiny for their oversight failures.