In a major breakthrough against corruption in higher education, three individuals — including two former University of Fort Hare (UFH) executives — were arrested for their alleged roles in a R2.4 million fraud scheme.
Simbongile Geqeza, 41, former acting Chief Financial Officer, Isaac Plaartjies, 57, ex-head of Investigation and Vetting, and Claudine Davids, 44, a family associate, appeared in the Alice Magistrate’s Court on April 2. They face charges of fraud, corruption, and money laundering.
According to Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Avele Fumba, the arrests stem from a detailed probe by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s Serious Corruption Investigation unit. The investigation uncovered two fraudulent payments funneled through fake service providers.
One transaction, dated September 2, 2021, involved a R1.4 million payment authorized by Geqeza to a company with no legitimate connection to the university. A second payment of R985,000 was facilitated by Plaartjies for investigative services allegedly never rendered. The funds were reportedly channeled to Davids.
All three suspects were granted R10,000 bail, and the case was postponed to April 4 for further investigation.
The arrests, carried out in a coordinated national operation on April 1, are part of the Hawks’ ongoing campaign to combat corruption in South Africa’s education sector.
