Fort Hare corruption case split into five parts to speed up prosecution

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has split the R172 million University of Fort Hare case into five legs to streamline the prosecution of the 21 accused.

The NPA announced on Friday it had separated the Fort Hare fraud, corruption and money laundering charges into five separate cases.

The state said this complicated and multifaceted case would be prosecuted more quickly and simpler by dividing it into different legs with specialised prosecution tactics for each.

Fort Hare case split to speed up prosecution

The legs will be allocated to five different presiding regional court magistrates in the East London Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.

NPA regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said the legs had been separated after the finalisation of the charge sheets.

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“Each magistrate will arrange trial dates with the respective legal representatives,” Tyali said.

There are 21 accused in the five legs, including UFH employees, service providers, and their business entities.

Nine of the accused were Fort Hare employees who are alleged to have conspired with service providers and their businesses to award contracts in exchange for benefits.

R172 million

More than R172 million was paid by the university to the service providers, with the bulk allegedly finding its way into the pockets of the accused staff members.

At the university, the conclusion of these tenders was allegedly linked to violent incidents, including murder.

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The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for the Eastern Cape, advocate Barry Madolo, has also withdrawn charges against Cape Town forensic lawyer Sarah Burger, who was initially charged with the 21 others.

“This decision was taken after lengthy engagements between the complainant (Fort Hare), the Eastern Cape prosecution team and Burger’s legal representatives,” Tyali said.

In April, three people were arrested in connection with the case.

Three arrested in April

The accused, former acting chief financial officer Simbongile Geqeza, 41, former head of investigation and vetting Isaac Plaatjies, 57, and family friend Claudine Davids, 44, were each granted bail of R10 000.

According to the South African Justice, Crime Prevention, and Security cluster, the investigation uncovered two separate fraudulent schemes orchestrated by the accused.

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