Fort Hare professor expelled from SA over bigamous marriage

Published: 22/Feb/2021
Source: Daily Dispatch (Port Elizabeth) / Timeslive.co.za

By Ray Hartle

Edwin Okey Chikata Ijeoma was no intellectual slouch when he arrived in SA from Nigeria on a study permit in 1998 to pursue academic studies at the University of Pretoria. His hard work saw him obtain a PhD in economics in 2003.

However, the man who became professor of public sector economics at the University of Fort Hare (UFH) in the Eastern Cape had his citizenship revoked by the ministry of home affairs after he fraudulently relied on a bigamous marriage to a South African woman to obtain naturalisation and citizenship.

Ijeoma took home affairs on review to the Bhisho high court, but in a 2020 judgment the court held the minister had not erred in finding Ijeoma had made false representations about his marital status to the department or in determining his SA citizenship was null and void.

Read further: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-02-22-fort-hare-professor-expelled-from-sa-over-bigamous-marriage/

Themes: Loss and Deprivation of Nationality
Regions: South Africa
Year: 2021