15 Suspects Arrested in Connection With University of Fort Hare Murders Appear in Court

• 15 suspects in connection with the Fort Hare University murders have appeared in court in the Eastern Cape
• The suspects are facing various charges, including fraud, corruption and kidnapping
• They were arrested concerning the murder of two University of Fort Hare staff members in 2022 and 2023

With nine years’ experience, Tebogo Mokwena, a current affairs writer for Briefly News, provided insights into the criminal justice system and high-profile cases in South Africa at Daily Sun. Do you have a hard news story you would like to share? Email tebogo.mokwena@briefly.co.za with CA in the subject line.

ALICE – The 15 suspects who were arrested in connection with the murders of two University of Fort Hare staff members have made their appearance in court. Their arrests bring the number of those caught to 25.

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Suspects arrested for Fort Hare murders

According to SowetanLIVE, the suspects that were arrested were charged with fraud, corruption, kidnapping, attempted murder and murder. They were arrested after a South African Police Service task team investigated the murders of the University of Fort Hare’s fleet manager, Petrus Roets and vice-chancellor Professor Sakhele Buhlungu’s bodyguard, Richard Vesele. Roets was gunned down in 2022, and Vesele was killed in January 2023.

Four suspects have been suspended since 2022

Four of those arrested were allegedly suspended in 2022 by the university. SowetanLIVE revealed that others who were arrested allegedly work in the university’s finance, supply chains and human resource departments. The suspects were arrested over the Easter weekend. Their arrests follow the arrest of the university’s former Director of Investigations and Vetting, Isaac Plaatjies. Plaatjies was arrested in November last year at his home in East London.

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5 Fort Hare students arrested for the murder of another student over a laptop

In a related article, Briefly News reported that five students were arrested following the death of another student at the University of Fort Hare.

The students have been accused of allegedly murdering the student. It’s alleged that his death was because a laptop allegedly went missing. The student was allegedly confronted off-campus and escaped to the university. The suspects reportedly caught up with him, and they allegedly killed him.

South Africans were horrified by the murders and condemned the students’ alleged involvement.

Source: Briefly News