More doubts around Sudanese youth Nelly Yoa’s credentials

SELF-proclaimed community advocate Nelly Yoa appeared to be tangled in an alleged web of false claims as doubt mounted over his career and work with Melbourne’s Sudanese community.

Questions have been raised over the validity of Nelly Yoa’s career and claims to be working with Sudanese youths. Picture: David Smith

SELF-proclaimed community advocate Nelly Yoa was tangled in an alleged web of false claims on Monday as doubt continued to mount over his career, commercial deals and his work with Melbourne’s Sudanese community.

But the defiant 29-year-old stood firm last night, rubbishing claims he plagiarised a front-page article in The Age and a string of other statements about his career, brand endorsements and his high-profile friendships.

“I’m OK, I embrace this kind of publicity,” Mr Yoa said.

Top brands, including Nike, American Express, Kmart and Peter Jackson Australia, all distanced themselves from any association with Mr Yoa yesterday as it emerged he tried to bill taxpayers for a student film documenting his life.

And The Age, which published a front page co-author­ed article in which Mr Yoa urged authorities to do more to stop the African gang crisis, apologised yesterday, stating: “Several of the ­assertions made by Nelly Yoa in this article about his personal circumstances have been challenged, exagg­erated or found not to be true.”

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The Age conceded it had not carried out any checks on Mr Yoa’s background and apologised as it appeared parts of Yoa’s recommendations had been plagiarised.

“The Age accepts that Mr Yoa’s assertions and credentials should have been checked more thoroughly before publication and apologises for not doing so.”

Nelly Yoa. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Mr Yoa yesterday stood by claims he is sponsored by Nike and was a brand ambassador for American Express.

The Herald Sun spoke to representatives from both brands, who said they had no such arrangements in place.

Mr Yoa also verified that he met Usain Bolt and John Steffensen during the Spring Racing Carnival but “wouldn’t call it a solid friendship’’.

He previously told the Ballarat Courier on November 7 2016, the world’s fastest man and Steffensen travelled with him to Ballarat to greet his newborn daughter, and Bolt had helped him in his recovery after a machete attack.

Questions were also raised over a low-quality online ad for Mercedes-Benz Australia, in which he promotes a new car. Mr Yoa confirmed last night he had made the ad but was not associated with the luxury brand.

Victorian Multicultural Commission chairwoman Helen Kapalos said Mr Yoa had tried to make the commission pay for promotion and advertising of a documentary about his life in October 2016, but contacted him last week after suggestions he had been working directly with Sudanese youth.

“We wanted to see if we were able to lend any assistance, (but) he was unable to provide any names or details,” she said.

She said he had promised to organise meetings with Apex members or other troubled youths but never did so.

Mr Yoa last night denied seeking payment for his ­documentary from the commission and said his views on the Sudanese community should be considered “as a community member, not a leader”.