Carl Niehaus
Carl Niehaus (born 25 December 1959) is the former spokesman for South African ruling party the African National Congress, former spokesman for Nelson Mandela, and was a political prisoner after being convicted of treason against South Africa. He stepped down as ANC spokesman in February 2009 after admitting to maladministration of his own finances, extensive borrowing from political contacts and possible fraud.
Treason conviction and sentence
As a young theology student Niehaus was reported to the security police by his flatmate after speaking incautiously about blowing up the gasworks in Johannesburg. In 1983 he was convicted of treason and received a prison sentence of 15 years. He was released in the 1990.
In 2008 he publicly disclosed that he was gang raped in prison the night before his guilty verdict was handed down. The truth of this claim has subsequently been questioned by a former friend, Bart Luirink, editor of the Dutch Zuidelijk Afrika Magazine
Education
In February 2008 investigations by a number of media organisations found that Niehaus had falsely claimed to hold a master's degree and a doctorate in theology from the University of Utrecht. Claimed qualifications confirmed to be true included a Bachelor's in Theology from the University of South Africa (Unisa) awarded in April 1988 and an honours degree (Cum Laude) from the same institution two years later. Niehaus was awarded the "international medal" of the University of Utrecht in 2000. This medal is granted to persons who have contributed to the international profile of Utrecht University in an exceptional way.
