Cele had us arrested to protect Mabuyane, ANC, Fort Hare forensic detectives claim

Members of the police National Intervention Unit with rifles at the ready during a raid on a Cape Town law firm. (Supplied)

Two forensic lawyers, who spearheaded the anti-corruption campaign at the University of Fort Hare for vice-chancellor Sakhela Buhlungu, have launched a blistering attack on Police Minister Bheki Cele and the ANC over their “politically motivated” arrests in April.

Bradley Conradie and Sarah Burger accuse Cele and the police of trying to protect Eastern Cape premier and ANC president Oscar Mabuyane, whose “fake” degrees scandal they had exposed, and the ruling party, historically close to Fort Hare, before the May 29 elections. Conradie is a partner at BCHC Attorneys and owner of Horizon Forensics, where Burger works.

Buhlungu approached Horizon Forensics and BCHC after his appointment in 2017 to help him clean up the corruption-ridden higher education institution. “That was the first connection, Buhlungu was desperately looking for help, it was a nightmare institution and I didn’t know where to turn,” Conradie said.