Twelve More Suspects, Including AKA’s Ex-Bodyguard, Face Court in Fort Hare Murder Investigation

The grim narrative unfolding at Fort Hare University took another twist as twelve additional suspects, including a former bodyguard of the late South African rapper, AKA, faced an Eastern Cape court for bail proceedings starting Wednesday. These individuals were apprehended as part of a weekend crackdown by the South African Police Service (SAPS) national task team on charges related to several murder and attempted murder cases plaguing the institution.

Fifteen individuals have so far been arrested across different provinces such as Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal, joining ten others previously implicated in the high-profile murders of Fort Hare fleet manager Petrus Roets and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sakhele Buhlungu’s bodyguard, Mboneli Vesele.

During the court proceedings on Tuesday at the Dimbaza magistrate's court, which Police Minister Bheki Cele attended alongside Professor Buhlungu, Anwar Khan, a businessman and security professional previously affiliated with AKA, was identified as one of the key suspects. His security company, Pentagon, tasked with guarding senior university staff, is allegedly at the center of a financial trail leading to the hitmen responsible for Vesele's murder.

In a significant development, two of the accused, Gosain Wayne van der Haar and Sarah Pearl Burger, received bail set at R50,000 each after the state chose not to oppose their release.

Entwined with these murder allegations is a substantial tender fraud case. Isaac Plaatjies, former director of investigations and vetting services at the university, is purported to have spearheaded a fraudulent operation that siphoned off R170 million from Fort Hare University, dating back to 2019. Plaatjies, along with former UFH employee Anna Susana Smith and other members of the university's staff, are accused of favoritism in service provider selections, receiving kickbacks in return for the tender contracts.

These alleged malpractices dovetail with the March 2022 attacks on Professor Buhlungu, his deputy Professor Renuka Vithal, and bodyguard Vesele. Plaatjies, selected to lead the investigations unit following these incidents, is reported to have facilitated deals with Pentagon, resulting in exorbitant security costs that raised red flags and were eventually linked to the tender fraud investigations.

As the university deals with the aftermath of these financial and criminal issues, the court cases of the twelve suspects continue to unravel the extent of corruption and violence that has marred the institution. The SAPS task team's efforts have brought this scandal into the spotlight, promising more developments as investigations progress.