Six accused of R80m UKZN student accommodation scam back in court

Three University of KwaZulu-Natal staff members and three former student representative council members linked to a R80m student accommodation scam were back in court on Thursday.

The group made a brief appearance at the Pinetown magistrate's court on Thursday. 

The six accused are:

• Xolani Dube, a former chairperson of the SRC at Westville campus;
• Pregasen Govender, an SRC member based at Howard Campus;
• Julian Sandreigh King, a student resident affairs administrator at Edgewood College;
• Ezram Lebodi, who worked with landlords in the procurement division;
• Nqobile Mngomezulu, the head of private accommodation administration at UKZN; and
• Moses Nkambako, a former SRC president.

The group, who are out on bail, appeared in court for pre-trail proceedings, when the matter was adjourned to August 10 for the proceedings to resume.

The adjournment was due to applications to have the trial separated.

Five families who own student accommodation establishments brought the matter to the attention of the police, according to sources close to the investigation.

The Sunday Times reported last month that while police started investigating the allegations in 2021, they believe the scheme has been operating since “at least 2016”.

One source had explained to the Sunday Times how the scheme works.

“One of the suspects, or one of many runners, will approach a landlord with, let’s say, a 20-bed building. The runner will charge the landlord R100 per bed per month [to house a student]. If the landlord pays, the hostel is filled up.” 

“In another scenario, a hostel that is already full will be approached. The landlord will be told that he has to pay R100 per student per month, otherwise, the students will leave.” 

Condemned buildings are also allegedly used. 

TimesLIVE

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.