Pretoria – AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit has appealed to Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Dr. Blade Nzimande to intervene in the matter of suspended University of South Africa (UNISA) acting CFO Dr. Reshma Mathura.
The private prosecution unit said Friday, that Dr. Mathura’s cooperation in a Hawks investigation into corruption at UNISA has emerged as a possible motive for her suspension.
“As more details emerge of a carefully orchestrated conspiracy to silence Dr. Reshma Mathura, AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit has appealed to Dr. Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, to intervene,” the unit said in a statement.
“As Mathura’s legal representative, the private prosecution unit has now been thoroughly briefed on her role in responding to a Section 205 (of the Criminal Procedure Act) subpoena the Hawks served on the institution early in February.”
Narrating events leading to the suspension of the CFO, the unit said Dr. Mathura was asked to gather details of five UNISA staff members as well as a company.
This was one of at least two Hawks investigations into fraud and corruption related to tender rigging at the institution.
The unit said: “Professor Puleng LenkaBula, Vice-Chancellor of Unisa, suspended [Dr.] Mathura on 19 April [2024] on several grounds, notably in response to a whistle-blower report sent to management a few weeks earlier and for sharing documents with outside parties”.
The unit said it has advised its client, Dr. Mathura that the whistle-blower report and associated unsolicited deposits into her private bank account were part of a scheme to have her removed from her post.
The unit said it has addressed letters on the matter to Professor LenkaBula and Dr. Daniel Mosia, Chairperson of UNISA’s council.
Dr. Mosia’s unsatisfactory response, sent by an attorney, prompted the approach to Minister Nzimande, the unit said.
Dr. Mathura has also filed a complaint with the Hawks to investigate the unsolicited payments into her bank account.
“In a knee-jerk response, UNISA filed a criminal complaint against Mathura to investigate those same payments,” the unit said.
Advocate Gerrie Nel, head of the AfriForum Private Prosecution Unit, wrote Minister Nzimande, saying when presented with an anonymous email making baseless allegations against Dr. Mathura, UNISA’s management “acted with lightning speed by suspending her and filing a criminal complaint under the pretences of standing firm against corruption”.
Advocate Nel added: “Yet the same management, under Professor LenkaBula, stands idle years after receiving consecutive forensic investigation reports conducted by reputable legal and auditing firms implicating numerous staff members, including senior managers, in corruption amounting to millions of rand.
“These irreconcilable inconsistencies can only be explained if we accept Unisa’s management’s motive is to target Dr. Mathura because of her dedication to identify and deal with malfeasance within UNISA’s ranks.
“UNISA’s management appears to be caught between a rock and a hard place.
“To act against those legitimately implicated in corruption would open the proverbial can of worms, as the implicated parties would point fingers at their enablers and co-accused who’ve not been identified in the reports.
“Not acting against Dr. Mathura would have a similar effect in that by fulfilling her duties as acting CFO, fingers would eventually be pointed at those same enablers and co-accused.
“The people acting irrationally and inconsistently suggests in both scenarios to whom those fingers will be pointed.”
Developing story…
Neither UNISA nor Minister Nzimande could be reached at the time of publication.
Their reactions will be included ASAP.
