By Everson Luhanga
- The High Court in the Eastern Cape rules the SIU acted outside its powers when it investigated Mabuyane’s Master’s studies, saying the presidential proclamation did not cover that issue.
- The SIU says it will look at its legal options after the court struck out its defence and left the core questions in the case still open.
Premier Oscar Mabuyane scored a dramatic legal victory on Thursday after the High Court in Bhisho stopped the Special Investigating Unit from digging into his studies at the University of Fort Hare.
The judge ruled the SIU’s actions were an “abuse”, “unconstitutional” and far beyond what the president had authorised in the original proclamation.
The court also extended the time allowed for Mabuyane to challenge the president’s decision that launched the broader Fort Hare investigation. It declared the SIU’s conduct unlawful, set aside its entire probe of the Premier and ordered it to pay costs.
The ruling means the SIU cannot continue investigating Mabuyane’s Master’s registration unless a new and valid proclamation is issued.
The clash dates back to 2021 when Fort Hare removed Mabuyane from a Master’s programme in Public Administration after finding that normal admission rules were not followed. He did not have an honours degree, which is usually needed to enter a Master’s programme. The matter drew national attention and raised questions about who gained entry to postgraduate courses and how.
On 5 August 2022, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a proclamation allowing the SIU to investigate Fort Hare for alleged wrongdoing. That proclamation covered honours degrees, financial issues and governance failures, but not Master’s studies.
In June 2023, Mabuyane went to court, arguing that the president had no power to authorise a probe into academic matters such as his Master’s registration. The court granted him temporary protection and stopped the SIU from acting against him while the case continued.
A year later, on 4 June 2024, the court struck out the SIU’s defence, leaving the unit without a proper answer to Mabuyane’s challenge. The SIU said it would consider asking for a new proclamation that would allow it to expand its investigation to Master’s and PhD qualifications.
Fort Hare later welcomed changes that widened the overall investigation to include bachelor’s, honours, master’s and PhD degrees. But in Mabuyane’s case, the judge ruled that the SIU’s earlier actions remained unlawful.
For the Premier, the ruling is a major win. But the bigger questions about how he joined the Master’s programme, and how far investigators can go when probing university qualifications, remain unresolved.
Pictured above: Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane
Image source: File
