Durban - The criminal case against Avril Sahadew has been transferred to the Pinetown Regional Court.
Sahadew, 43, has been charged with defeating the ends of justice, kidnapping and crimen injuria. She appeared in the Pinetown Magistrate's Court on Tuesday and, given the seriousness of the charges against her, the case was moved to the regional court.
The matter was adjourned to May.
Sahadew is a forensic audit specialist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She was leading the investigation, known as Operation Clever, into the sale of placement at its medical school. The investigation went on for four years without anyone being criminally charged or prosecuted.
Sahadew was removed from the investigation in 2019, apparently, after a staff member laid criminal charges against her. It is alleged that in 2017, the staff member was going to expose her role in the sale of exam papers.
The staff member was allegedly locked in Sahadew's office and guarded by her bodyguards until he gave her all the information he had on the case. The staff member was then suspended for two years until the university instituted an investigation.
The staff member was subsequently acquitted and returned to work. After the reinstatement, he opened the case against Sahadew.
Last year, the university was ordered by the Durban High Court to disclose the budget that was spent on Operation Clever after a businessman, Visham Panday, had approached the court.
The university then released a statement saying it spent R73.5 million on Operation Clever. Most of this money (just over R42m) was spent from August 2017 to May last year protecting Sahadew. It included the costs of guards, bodyguards, cars and a safe house.
Last week, Normah Zondo, the acting executive director of corporate relations, said Sahadew remained in the employ of the university. Any allegation suggesting suspension should be regarded as disinformation.
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