We’ll leave no stone unturned at Fort Hare — Cele

Fifteen suspects appear in court in connection with fraud and corruption charges after weekend swoops

There could be more arrests in the ongoing saga of violence and corruption at the University of Fort Hare, after an additional 15 people were taken into custody over the Easter weekend, bringing the total number of suspects to 25.

Speaking on the sidelines of the appearance of the latest 15 people facing charges of fraud and corruption in the Dimbaza Magistrate’s Court yesterday, police minister Bheki Cele said police were doing good work in the case.

The charges against the latest 15 accused relate to R171m lost by the university.

Theirs is a separate case from that involving the murders of Mboneli Vesele, bodyguard of vice-chancellor Sakhela Buhlungu, and university fleet manager Petrus Roets, and a litany of other charges.

“For now we are at the very beginning, so it’s OK to give time for the teams [investigating] to continue to do the work ... ours is to do our job and prove we have a case,” Cele said.

“We don’t know how far it will go, but one thing we have made a point of is we will leave no stone unturned.”

The new accused are Isaac Plaatjies, Anna Susana Ansa Smith, Paul Anathanatius Tladi, Lucrecia Claudine Davids, Mbulelo Gingcina, Louis Nkateko Mawila, Nozuko Theodora Mabombo, Gosain

Wayne van der Haar, Thamsanqa Sonjica, Terrence Joubert, Bradley Conradie, Sarah Pearl Burger, Craig Retief, Anwar Khan and Nthabiseng Keitumetse Makhoba.

Plaatjies, Smith, Tladi, Gingcana, Mawila, Mabombo, Van der Haar and Sonjica are current or former employees of the university.

Plaatjies, who remains in custody in the murder case, was the director of investigations and vetting. Smith was Plaatjies’ assistant.

Gingcana was the director of supply chain, while Mawila was the financial manager.

Mabombo worked as a general manager in the vice-chancellor’s office.

Van der Haar was employed in the information technology department, while Sonjica was a security co-ordinator.

Burger, from Cape Town, and Van der Haar, from East London, were granted R50,000 bail each after the state did not oppose their release. Plaatjies abandoned a bail bid.

According to the indictment, Davids is married to Tladi and it is alleged kickbacks were paid into her account and in turn distributed to Plaatjies, Tladi, Gingcana and Van der Haar.

Joubert, who had worked for the police and the National Prosecuting Authority, is a sole director of Tarlec, based in KwaZulu-Natal.

Conradie is a partner at Bradley Conradie Halton Cheadle

and a director of Horizon Forensics, a consulting company based in Cape Town.

Burger is a partner of Horizon Forensic, while Retief, Khan and Makhoba allegedly won tenders from the university.

Retief, a businessman, was awarded a forensic cyber investigations tender.

Khan is the sole director of Pentagon Group, a private security company.

Makhoba is the sole director of EL Reigns company.

The state alleges the university was prejudiced by R171m by the acts of the 15 accused.

It says the conclusions of the tender contracts were preceded by violent acts at the university.

These include the attempted murders of Buhlungu and his deputy, Professor Renuka Vithal, and the murder of Mboneli Vesele, Buhlungu’s bodyguard, on March 17 2022.

The shooting was followed by another near Mabombo’s house on April 1, which the state dubs a “ploy to create more panic in the university”.

It is alleged that between April 2019 and February 2024, all the accused defrauded the university by stating or implying to the university, Buhlungu and Matumba that there was a “dangerous atmosphere after the arranged shootings were perpetrated in the UFH”.

This atmosphere necessitated a deviation from the university’s normal tender process rules.

All the contracts of the respective service providers were backdated from 2019, even when the recent shootings in 2022 were used as a reason.

The invoices approved by Plaatjies in conjunction with Smith, Tladi, Gingcana, Mawila, Mabombo, Van der Haar and Sonjica allegedly reflected incorrect amounts as agreed between the university and the service providers.

Pentagon allegedly submitted a service quotation to get a tender, and reportedly was paid more than R62.2m.

BCHC received more than R44.7m.

Horizon received more than R33.6m.

EL Reign received more than R10.5m.

Tarlec received more than R7.6m.

Terrence Joubert was paid more than R6.6m.

Craig Retief received more than R6.2m.

Elvis Mutsakanyi received more than R150,000.

Vice-chancellor Buhlungu said the latest arrests had not come as a total surprise to him, as he had been working closely with the police.

“The majority of the ones from the university were already outside the door, either suspended or dismissed.

“Two of them were supposed to sit in disciplinary hearings this week. For now I’m very happy.”

Twelve of the accused will apply for bail today.