A decision is expected on Thursday on whether the racketeering, fraud and corruption case against a new cohort of accused in the University of Fort Hare (UFH) matter will be struck off the roll at the Dimbaza Magistrate’s Court in the Eastern Cape.
Twelve of the 15 accused were in court on Wednesday for a bail hearing after Sarah Pearl Burger, a Cape Town based attorney and director of Horizon Forensics, and Wayne Gosain van der Haar from the UFH’s IT department were each released on R50 000 bail on Tuesday.
Accused one, Isaac Plaatjies, the university’s former head of investigations and vetting, abandoned his bail bid.
The defence teams lodged two applications on Wednesday including seeking the recusal of magistrate Nontuthuzelo Sontlaba from presiding over the bail application, citing that she was already presiding over the first group of accused and could be biased.
They wanted a new magistrate that has not dealt with UFH-related matters.
Eastern Cape National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said Sontlaba had agreed to recuse herself, and the prosecution did not object to that.
“However, the defence made another application for the case to be struck off the roll.
“The case was postponed to April 4 (today) for judgment on the application by the defence to have the case struck off the roll.
They are contending that the warrants of arrests are defective, hence the Dimbaza Magistrate’s Court does not have jurisdiction. The prosecution is opposing such an application,” said Tyali.
A total of 25 people have now been arrested and have appeared in court since last year for various crimes, including murder and attempted murder. The accused arrested during the Easter weekend include Terrence Joubert, a former NPA senior financial investigator in KwaZulu-Natal.
Joubert was axed for allegedly accepting bribes in an attempt to dismiss the case involving former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede.
He also appeared at the state capture inquiry.
Slain rapper AKA’s former bodyguard, Anwar Khan, who is believed to be linked to Joubert through alleged payments that formed part of the scheme at the university, also appeared in court.
UFH’s VIP Protection Services’ Thamsanqa Sonjica, who spoke against corruption during the memorial service of vice-chancellor Sakhela Buhlungu’s assassinated bodyguard Mboneli Vesele, and Nozuko Mabombo, who is Buhlungu’s office manager, are among the accused in court.
Buhlungu said he was “very surprised” by some of the people standing in the dock.
“It was a big surprise. There is disappointment and a sense of betrayal that we feel by some of the people here who were in positions of trust, either as service providers or staff members.
Half of the accused are from the university and the university had already acted against the majority of them through suspension and dismissal.
Two of them were expected to sit for their disciplinary hearings this week,” Buhlungu said.
Police minister Bheki Cele said: “We were clear that police should leave no stone unturned and indeed these arrests are testament to the fact that police cast their net very wide and very far.
“It is quite disturbing that some of those who have been arrested are individuals who were entrusted with ensuring the viability of the university as they held very senior and key positions.
“Over and above the individuals arrested who are attached to service providers to Fort Hare, one of the accused is a former acting judge and another is a former special senior investigator of the Assets Forfeiture Unit of the NPA.”
Cape Times