The three suspects were arrested in a coordinated Hawks operatio for their alleged involvement in a R2.4 million fraud scheme at the University of Fort Hare.
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Three suspects, including two former University of Fort Hare executives, have been arrested for allegedly orchestrating a R2.4 million fraud scheme that siphoned funds from the institution through fake service providers.
The suspects, former Acting Chief Financial Officer Simbongile Geqeza, 41, former Head of Investigation and Vetting Isaac Plaartjies, 57, and family associate Claudine Davids, 44, appeared before the Alice Magistrate’s Court on April 2 to face charges of fraud, money laundering, and corruption.
Each was granted R10,000 bail, and the matter was postponed to April 4 for further investigation.
“The arrests follow a detailed investigation by the Serious Corruption Investigation of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), which uncovered two fraudulent schemes that drained university funds amounting to more than R2 million,” said Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Avele Fumba.
The first scheme dates back to September 2, 2021, when Geqeza allegedly issued a fraudulent instruction to a bank authorising a R1.4 million payment to a company “with no legitimate ties to the university.”
“The scheme was exposed when university management noticed financial discrepancies and reported the matter to the Hawks,” said Fumba.
A second fraudulent transaction uncovered during the investigation involved a payment of R985,000 to a service provider for investigative services that were never rendered.
“The service provider allegedly claimed to have assisted the Hawks during the university investigation, even though no services were being provided,” said Fumba.
The payment was reportedly facilitated by Plaartjies in collaboration with the claimant, with the funds allegedly funneled to Davids.
The suspects were arrested in different parts of the country on April 1, 2025.
The arrests were the result of a coordinated operation by the East London-based Serious Corruption Investigation team of the Hawks, which described the breakthrough as part of its continued efforts to root out corruption in the education sector.
IOL News
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