Eastern Cape premier 'won't resign' amid university admission allegations

Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane, pleading innocence, says he will not resign over an allegedly fraudulent University of Fort Hare (UFH) master’s degree admission.  

There has been mounting pressure from opposition parties for Mabuyane to resign after he was accused of fraudulently submitting a research proposal for a master’s degree in public administration at the university, allegedly with the help of former faculty dean Prof Edwin Ijeoma.

Speaking to TimesLIVE, the premier’s spokesperson, Zuko Godlimpi, said the claims were baseless. Mabuyane intends to challenge any report implicating him in alleged wrongdoing.

ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukayitobi told TimesLIVE the party would await the findings of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which is looking into allegations of corruption and maladministration at UFH.

“The SIU is competent enough to deal with the matter. We are opting to give it a chance to conclude its work without any undue influence and pressure. It is the considered view that this could have been handled differently, as the outcomes either way will have serious implications for the very institution, being UFH,” Ngcukayitobi said.

Mabuyane, who holds an economics degree from the university, was deregistered and excluded from a master's degree there in 2021 after a probe by the institution into his research supervisor Ijeoma.  

In March 2021, the university published a statement communicating the deregistration of two students supervised by Ijeoma, saying they did not comply with minimum admission requirements for the degree. 

“In 2021 the premier received a letter from the university stating he had been excluded and deregistered as a student of the institution following a review conducted in respect of students who were supervised by Prof Ijeoma,” Godlimpi said.

Mabuyane should not be blamed for “weakness” in the internal control systems of the university, he added.

He said Mabuyane was unhappy about reports of an investigation because he was not approached for questioning by the university, and relied on the courts to clear his name. 

“It is the premier’s belief that such a platform will create an opportunity to share his side of the story and defend his reputation, which is tainted by allegations made in news reports,” Godlimpi said. 

Allegations of corruption and maladministration at UFH are being investigated by the SIU on President Cyril Ramaphosa's instructions.

TimesLIVE

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