Fort Hare murders — ex-SAPS member, 14 suspended university workers arrested

A general view of the funeral of Mboneli Vesele, the Executive Protection Officer for the University of Fort Hare Vice-Chancellor, Prof Sakhele Buhlungu. (Photo: Twitter / @DrBladeNzimande)

By Velani Ludidi

1 Apr 2024

The latest development brings the number of those arrested to 25, for the murders and attempted murder that are believed to be linked to a tender corruption syndicate.

Police have announced the arrest of 15 more people as part of the investigation into murder and attempted murder cases at Fort Hare University.

Sources close to the investigation said a former South African Police Service member now working in the security sector and 14 suspended staff members were arrested over the weekend. The staff members, including some in senior roles, were still going through disciplinary proceedings at the time of their arrest, the sources said.

They include a human resources director, a supply chain manager and a member of the security and protection services team at the university, they added.

Read more in Daily Maverick: University of Fort Hare VC’s roller-coaster ride for justice in face of murder and criminal syndicates

National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the national task team assigned to investigate the incidents made the arrests.

“This brings the number of those arrested in this case to 25 suspects,” she said.

Law enforcement had arrested the additional suspects in various provinces over the Easter weekend, including Gauteng, the Eastern and Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal. They faced charges ranging from fraud and corruption, to kidnapping, murder and attempted murder.

For Hare murders Some of the suspects outside Alice Magistrates' Court on 21 November 2023, reportedly facing two charges of murder and attempted murder in connection with the murder of Petrus Roets and Mboneli Vesele. (File photo: Lulama Zenzile / Die Burger / Gallo Images)

They are expected to appear in the Dimbaza Magistrates’ Court in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday, 2 April 2024.

National Police Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, said the task team will continue to do its work without fear or favour.

“The team has been hard at work in getting to the bottom of who is behind fraud, corruption and the murders at the university. They will continue to investigate and hunt those who are found to have had a hand in any wrongdoing. Our focus is to bring before court a case that will be able to stand in court with all the evidence that has been collected by the team,” he said.

Police Minister Bheki Cele and Masemola are expected to attend the court proceedings on Tuesday.

The university confirmed that it was aware of the arrests but said it would only comment after it had been briefed on Tuesday.

It has been 18 months since the first murder of an employee shook the tenure of the university’s vice-chancellor, Professor Sakhela Buhlungu, and 14 months since someone gunned down his bodyguard in front of his official residence. Buhlungu has since scaled back his public exposure.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Maverick last week, Buhlungu revealed how he had embarked on a crusade for justice, going all the way to the Presidency to try to bring closure to the slain men’s families and reassure his colleagues, university staff and students – and to see the guilty persons charged and convicted.

fort hare assassination From left: Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele, Minister of Education Blade Nzimande and Minister of Police Bheki Cele at the funeral of Mboneli Vesele, the executive protection officer for the University of Fort Hare's vice-chancellor, Professor Sakhela Buhlungu. (Photo: Twitter / @DrBladeNzimande)

The murders are believed to be linked to a tender corruption syndicate that has cost the institution millions of rands.

Petrus Roets, the university’s fleet and transport manager, was shot and killed in Gonubie, East London, on 19 May 2022. Mboneli Vesele, Buhlungu’s driver and bodyguard, was shot dead in Dikeni (formerly Alice) on 6 January 2023.

The police have arrested a fellow cop, a local businessman and lawyer, students, university employees – including the head of vetting and investigations, Isaac Plaatjies – and hitmen from KwaZulu-Natal in connection with the murders.

Read more in Daily Maverick: I quit for my own safety, former Fort Hare deputy vice-chancellor says in wake of VC ‘assassination attempt’

In court documents, the State links Roets’s murder to an extensive anti-corruption campaign Buhlungu had initiated, which earned him death threats. Roets was one of the people he had appointed to correct the situation. Like all the new managers, he stopped all pending payments to service providers.

fort hare vesele The funeral service for Mboneli Vesele, the bodyguard of University of Fort Hare Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sakhela Buhlungu. (Photo: Twitter / @DrBladeNzimande)

Vesele was appointed as Buhlungu’s bodyguard, which aggrieved Plaatjies, according to the indictment before court. It is alleged that some of the accused asked him to persuade Vesele to join their mission to oust Buhlungu, but he refused to betray his boss, giving the accused a reason to kill him.

Timeline

2017: Professor Sakhela Buhlungu starts his tenure as the vice-chancellor of the University of Fort Hare.

2017-2019: The university is rocked by student and staff protests.

2020: After noticing troubling practices and maladministration, Buhlungu starts investigations and implements sweeping reforms. What he does not know is that this has put him in the firing line of alleged syndicates at work at the university.

May 2022: The university’s fleet manager, Petrus Roets, one of Buhlungu’s appointees, is shot dead at his house in Gonubie. Buhlungu and other key personnel are given protection.

5 August 2022: The Special Investigating Unit starts an investigation into tenders and degree programmes at the university.

January 2023: Bodyguard Mboneli Vesele is shot and killed outside Buhlungu’s house in what is believed to be a missed hit on the vice-chancellor.

April 2023: Five suspects are arrested and charged. They are: Bongani Peter, the university’s chief operating transport officer; Wanini Khuza, a retired supervisor of drivers at the East London campus (he had been brought back on contract and was the chancellor’s driver); Sicelo Mbulawa, a former student representative council member and businessman who provides vehicle repair services to the university; Mthobisi Khanyile and Mthobisi Dlamini, alleged hitmen from KwaZulu-Natal, both with long criminal records. Their bail applications are initially refused, but Mbulawa is later granted R75,000 bail by the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Makhanda.

July 2023: A policeman attached to the detective services in Mthatha, Constable Lindokuhle Manjati, is arrested, charged and added as accused number six.

August 2023: Zimele Chiliza, a taxi boss from KwaZulu-Natal, and attorney Pelisa Nkonyeni are added as accused numbers seven and eight, respectively. Chiliza is released on R100,000 bail and Nkonyeni on R50,000.

September 2023: Thamsanqa Mgwetyana, who has been hiding from the police in KwaZulu-Natal, is found and added as accused number nine. He remains incarcerated. In court, it is said that he was the person who linked Isaac Plaatjies, the university’s director of vetting and investigations, to the murders.

17 November 2023: Plaatjies is arrested, charged and added as accused number 10. He remains incarcerated. In the latest court ruling on his attempts to obtain bail, the magistrate says he was the one who drew up the hit list. He is described as dangerous and dishonest by the court.

31 March 2024: Fifteen suspects are arrested as part of the ongoing investigation into cases of murder and attempted murder at Fort Hare. They were arrested in various provinces including Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape. DM

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