Zuko Komisa

Legal Expert weighs in on Oscar Mabuyane’s interdict victory against the SIU.
Point of View with Phemelo Motene spoke to legal expert, Mpumelelo Zikalala who makes sense of the Bisho High Court ruling which has ordered the Special Investigating Unit to exclude Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane from its investigation at
Fort Hare University.
Mabuyane is being accused of being registered for a Master’s Degree without completing his Honours.
The probe, according to the premier, was illegal since it exceeded the parameters of a proclamation issued by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Mabuyane argued that the SIU lacked authority to look into issues related to education. He said that only Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande has the power to look into academic concerns.
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Mabuyane was enrolling for a master’s degree through the recognition of prior learning program, not an honors degree, according to Ngcukaitobi.
Zikalala shared his interpretation of the court order.
“This what the judgment adopted a much narrow approach in terms of the proclamation. This is what the judgment is saying according to me, SIU have been given a shopping list, and you can’t add things to the shopping list even though when you enter in the shop you might find things which are going to assist you.
“So if then say our investigation is only going to be limited to honors degrees, what do we then do if we go to an institution and encounter that there are Masters and Honors degrees that were awarded in a unlawful manner, what this order is saying is, because you don’t have powers to investigate Masters degrees, and doctorate degrees, don’t go further, even though they might there might be instance where something wrong has taken place. “
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