An attorney has formally sought the withdrawal of corruption charges against one of seven people accused of paying bribes for admission to the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) medical school – in a case dating back to 2017, reports News24.
This was while proceedings in the Durban Regional Court on Tuesday faced delays over escalating evidence documentation concerns.
The seven accused, Salman Noor Mohamed, his mother Mirriam Mohamed, Muhammad Altamish Haniff, Preshni Hiramun, married couple Varsha and Hiteshkumar, plus their son Bhavik Bhatt, allegedly offered payments of up to R50 000 to Ruth Sekati, a senior education IT specialist at UKZN, to manipulate university admissions systems.
The case was removed from the court roll seven years ago during investigations.
Last year, corruption charges were reinstated with all accused summoned to the Durban Regional Court.
At Tuesday’s pre-trial conference, legal representative Sandeep Singh, acting for Haniff, submitted representations requesting that all charges be withdrawn for his client.
This coincided with other defence attorneys voicing significant concerns about incomplete state evidence, generating complications for the extensively delayed case.
Wesley Rogers, representing the Bhatt family, told the court he had identified substantial case bundle deficiencies, apparently including missing pages, and indicated intentions to conduct informal state meetings to compare documents and assess missing materials.
The concerns were echoeds by Jacques Botha, representing Hiramun. “Already from what I have been through I have found missing logs and missing annexures, and these are from substantial witnesses. There seem to be quite a lot of things missing,” he said.
The case originates from allegations made in early 2017 when the state alleged that the accused all paid bribes of between R10 000 and R50 000 to secure pharmacy admissions for three students with inadequate academic results for the competitive programme.
Rogers questioned the investigation’s methodology, requesting access to information from related civil proceedings involving university-commissioned KPMG consultants.
“In the High Court there was a civil matter in terms of PIIA (personal information impact assessment) in relation to an operation that culminated into this prosecution. I have requested the information discovered in those proceedings and the prosecution has said that it has not been able to lift (the) same.
“My understanding is that the police had very little to do with this investigation: this goes to the fairness of the pre-trial. This is why it is important we get this information,” Rogers said.
He added that there had been a parallel investigation by a private company without the involvement of police.
State advocate Siyabonga Majola defended the investigation’s integrity, noting three separate dockets and emphasising procedural protections around certain evidence.
Magistrate Dawn Soomaroo acknowledged mounting concerns, ruling that excessive outstanding issues prevented pre-trial progression.
She ordered prosecution and defence teams to resolve documentation disputes by 25 March, postponing proceedings until 4 May for pre-trial readiness assessment.
Accusations centre on events at UKZN’s Westville Campus, where the accused allegedly bribed Sekati to manipulate IT admission systems, securing Bachelor of Pharmacy programme places for Salman, Haniff and Bhavik, despite inadequate matric results.
The charges allege that the accused offered R50 000 per student but paid R50 000 for Salman’s admission (payments of R47 000 and R3 000), R20 000 for Haniff’s admission, and R10 000 for Bhavik’s admission.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
UKZN medical school admissions graft case back in court
Ex-student to appear in court over alleged UKZN medical school bribe
Arrest of senior UKZN staffer involved in ‘cash for places’ investigation