Eastern Cape Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, has won his bid to interdict the SIU from investigating his qualifications from University of Fort Hare

Eastern Cape Premier, Oscar Mabuyane, has won his bid to interdict the SIU from investigating his qualifications from University of Fort Hare. (Read More Here).

Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane has won his bid to interdict the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) from probing his qualifications.

Mabuyane is accused of fraudulently being admitted to the Masters programme at Fort Hare University and changing the M-Admin qualification into a Doctorate.

President Cyril Ramaphosa instructed the SIU to investigate irregularities and corruption at the varsity.

Mabuyane has been implicated in the academic fraud part of the probe through evidence that he was enrolled for a master’s degree in public administration at Fort Hare without having obtained an honours degree. His enrolment was later cancelled. In papers before court it was explained that Professor Edwin Ijeoama – who was arrested in 2021 for running an enrolment scam at the university – and master’s students had drawn up a research proposal on Mabuyane’s behalf, with very little input from the premier. Mabuyane brought an urgent application to stop the probe against him after the SIU indicated that it wanted to search his home and wanted him to produce a number of documents including his identity document and his academic transcripts. Mabuyane’s application has two major sections, Part A and part B.

Part A is the interdict which he was granted.

The judgement was handed down in the Bhisho High Court.

“In the circumstances I grant the following order: The Special Investigating Unit is interdicted from enforcing proclamation 84 of 2022 published in government gazette on 5 August 2022 in so far the SIU has taken steps or intends to take steps that are directed at the applicant.”