PHUTI MOSOMANE
Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane successfully interdicts the SIU
Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane has successfully interdicted the Special Investigating Unit from enforcing President Cyril Ramaphosa’s proclamation to investigate allegations of academic fraud emanating from qualifications he received at Fort Hare University.
Mabuyane’s application in court is in two parts. In the first part, he wanted the court to interdict the SIU pending a full review, which was granted on Tuesday.
In the second part of the application (review application), Mabuyane wants the overall SIU proclamation to be set aside and considered invalid and unlawful.
In terms of the order, the SIU is interdicted from enforcing Proclamation R 84 of 2022 authorising the Unit to investigate allegations of maladministration in the affairs of Fort Hare University on matters relating to Mabuyane.
The investigation relating to Premier Mabuyane is interdicted pending the determination of Part B, which deals with the merits of the case in as far as the admission into and awarding of Masters degree.
On Tuesday, the court found that the President Cyril Ramaphosa’s proclamation doesn’t include the master’s programme and therefore, the SIU cannot extend its scope.
However, the Fort Hare University can still continue with its own investigation on Mabuyane’s controversial Master’s qualification.
“The interim interdict is not permanent as it will only endure up to the time when the review application is determined. Nothing stops the university from conducting its own investigation,” the court ruled.
Mabuyane briefly appeared at the Bisho High Court on Tuesday where he sought for the court to stop the SIU’s probe into his acceptance at Fort Hare’s master’s degree programme and whether he had the right qualifications, to be declared unlawful and stopped.
He went as far as calling the investigations “abuse and embarrassment”.
But the SIU has accused Mabuyane of not co-operate in their probe into his alleged illegitimate Master’s thesis.
SIU principal forensic auditor Bongani Tshuku told the court that the entity has found prima facie evidence showing that a team of university officials and researchers produced a thesis on behalf of Mabuyane.
The SIU fingered former university’s public administration faculty dean Prof Edwin Ijeoma and accused him of assisting Mabuyane to be “irregularly admitted into a Master’s programme.”
Both SIU and President Cyril Ramaphosa are opposing Mabuyane’s application.
In granting the interdict, Judge Thandi Norman also ruled that each party should bear their own costs.
The ruling is only a temporary relief for Mabuyane pending a full review application to be heard soon.
The SIU said it has noted a Bisho High Court order handed down by Judge T. V Norman on a matter brought by Mabuyane.
The SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the anti-corruption agency has studied the judgment and is happy that it does not interdict or suspends the Fort Hare University investigation in its entirety.”We are also optimistic that we will present our case when Part B of this matter is heard,” he said.
He added that the SIU is further encouraged by Paragraph 66 of the judgment which states that: “Where there is evidence that implicates unlawful conduct in so far as the Masters degree is concerned, there is nothing stopping the SIU from preparing a motivation as it did with the earlier Proclamation and request the President to proclaim that the registration for Masters degree, too, should be investigated.”
The judge also found that “although the applicant contends that the SIU was malicious, there is no evidence of such malice.”
Kganyago said the SIU will explore all legal options available to it.
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