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Politics

Eastern Cape Education Department gives suspended official 48 hours to answer leak allegations

By The Coastal Reporter

10 September 2026 · 1 min read

This article was created using or in collaboration with AI. It was then reviewed, fact-checked and edited by a real human. Lastly, it was approved and published by a senior editor.

Eastern Cape Education Department gives suspended official 48 hours to answer leak allegations

Suspended Director of Communications, Ms Vuyiseka Mboxela. Source: Facebook

The department has escalated an internal probe into alleged unauthorised access to its systems, after earlier saying it had opened a criminal case over a leaked email.

The Eastern Cape Department of Education has given its suspended Director of Communications, Vuyiseka Mboxela, 48 hours to explain allegations that she accessed departmental systems without permission and sent confidential correspondence to a personal e-mail account.

The move follows an earlier media statement in a paid for advert that the department had placed in both The Herald and Daily Dispatch front pages last week, that it had opened a criminal case over an internal email that was allegedly unlawfully accessed and passed on outside the department. That statement said the matter was being investigated and that officials wanted to know how the information reached a media house.

In the latest letter, signed by head of department Sharon Maasdorp, Mboxela is accused of accessing and/or intercepting departmental information while she was already on precautionary suspension and subject to a disciplinary process. The letter also asks her to account for whether she disclosed, provided or transmitted any of the information to a third party.

The fresh allegations come as the department tries to tighten control over confidential records amid growing scrutiny of its internal communication systems. The education department handles learner records, staff files and other sensitive information across the province, making any leak probe potentially significant for schools, parents and officials.

The letter does not set out what disciplinary action may follow, but it makes clear that the department wants a written response within 48 hours of service. It also states that the investigation is confidential and must not be discussed with any third party, including the media or on social media.

The document adds a new twist to the wider dispute over leaks inside the department, although it does not say whether the allegations against Mboxela are directly linked to the earlier complaint about the accessed email.

No response from Mboxela or the department was available at the time of publication.

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