FACT CHECK: Carl Niehaus
2009-02-20 14:31
Cape Town - Carl Niehaus continues to be in the news as more reports surface of alleged fraud and false information on his CV. Here is his CV from Litnet.co.za, and here is a list of facts which are known to be false, or facts which are disputed.
Carl Gerhardus Niehaus (b 1959) graduated with a BA (summa cum laude) from the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, in 1983. - False. "We can confirm that he was enrolled at the university, but he never graduated," Shirona Patel, a spokesperson for the university, told Beeld.
He became a political activist for the African National Congress (ANC), demonstrating against the policy of apartheid, and was imprisoned from 1983 until 1991, during which time he studied for and was awarded his bachelor's and honours degrees in Theology, again summa cum laude, from the University of South Africa. - True. Carl Niehaus was imprisoned for seven-and-a-half years, and News24 can confirm he completed his bachelors and honours, summa cum laude, at Unisa.
On his release in 1991 he was made a member of the ANC's Negotiation Commission and also appointed to the Provincial Executive Council of the ANC in the then PWV (now Gauteng). He became the Director of the ANC's National Media Liaison Unit and spokesperson for President Nelson Mandela.
He also became a member of the ANC's National Executive Committee, Chairperson of the ANC's Commission for Religious Affairs, and a member of the ANC's Negotiation Commission during the period when a democratic and non-racial Constitution was being negotiated for South Africa.
In 1994 he became an ANC Member of Parliament in the National Assembly, where he was variously a member of the Portfolio Committees of Justice and Telecommunications, Chairperson of the Committee on Correctional Services and whip and official spokesperson for the National Caucus of the ANC.
In 1997 President Mandela invited him to become the South African Ambassador to the Netherlands, where he served with distinction and during which time he also studied for and obtained his masters and doctorate in Theology (summa cum laude) at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. True and false. Niehaus was South Africa's Ambassador to the Netherlands, but Beeld has determined that Niehaus never, as he claimed, obtained a doctorate or a master's degree in theology at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands.
He also became the Head of South Africa's delegation to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) (True) and South Africa's Permanent Representative on both the OPCW Executive Council (False. This expires in 2010) and the Administrative Council of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
After concluding his term as Ambassador he became a partner in Deloitte (jointly in South Africa and the Netherlands). He was Project Leader in the Presidency for South Africa's 10th Anniversary Celebrations, after which he became the CEO of Rhema Ministries and then the CEO of the Gauteng Economic Development Agency (GEDA).
Carl Niehaus has written three books and received many awards and honours, including being knighted by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands with the Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Oranje-Nassau, the highest award that the Dutch Royal Family can bestow on a non-Dutch citizen. - True. He received this honour not "based on his personal merit, but because of his position as ambassador (in the Netherlands)" according to a Dutch spokesperson.
His current activities include serving on many boards, including the South African Netherlands Chamber of Commerce, (False) Civirello (Pty) Ltd (False), the African Advisory Council of Heineken, the Nederlandse Maatschappij der Letteren (False), the Afrikaanse Skrywersvereniging (False), and the Board of the President's Awards for Young Achievers (False). He is also a Patron of the Medunsa Trust and the South Africa Trauma Foundation.
He is Executive Director of R&C Investments, a venture capital and investment advisory company in South Africa, Executive Chairmain of Oil Treatment International, Africa, and CEO of the Children United Foundation (South Africa), a Section 21 Non-Profit Organisation.
Carl Niehaus is an ordained minister of religion and a member of the International Federation of Christian Churches (IFCC). He chairs the Finance Committee of the South African Council of Churches (SACC) (False), and is also a member of various international socio-religious study groups of the World Council of Churches (WCC).
Carl lives in Sandton (False. The house he is allegedly being evicted from is in Midrand). He enjoys drawing and painting and writing books and articles. His autobiographical book, Fighting for Hope, which was originally written in Afrikaans, has been translated into English, Dutch, German and Swedish.
- News24