Paul O’Sullivan’s former assistant Sarah-Jane Trent appeared before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee, where she broke down multiple times during her testimony.
Image: Phando Jikelo / Parliament RSA
The University of South Africa (Unisa) has come out to debunk the posts on social media alleging that attorney and certified fraud examiner Sarah-Jane Trent lied about enrolling at the university to the Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee.
Unisa has confirmed that Trent is a graduate of the institution.
Trent appeared before the Ad Hoc committee on Thursday and Friday, where she exposed troubling patterns regarding the role of private actors who have embedded themselves in South Africa’s criminal justice system, to Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee.
The committee is probing allegations made by SAPS KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.
During her testimony before the committee, she spoke about her education and skills development, including how she matriculated in 2002, and then went on to enrol at the University of Stellenbosch, Boland College and Unisa.
“In 2003, I enrolled for a degree in Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Marketing, at the University of Stellenbosch, which I did not complete. In 2004, I subsequently enrolled at Boland College, Stellenbosch, where I earned a 16-subject Merit Certificate in Marketing Management,” Trent said.
“In 2006, I was in search of employment as I no longer wanted a career in marketing so I decided to further my studies. In 2007, I enrolled at University of South Africa toward a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) which I completed in November 2012, (NQF level 8). I was conferred a Bachelors certificate on 13 May 2013,” Trent explained.
However, over the weekend, a social media post with obvious grammar errors made the rounds, claiming to be from Unisa, alleging that she did not study at the institution.
“On Friday the 06 of March 2026,the University of South Africa (Unisa) received numerous inquiries about the qualifications status of Ms Sarah Jane Trent, without violating the privacy or dignity of any student, Unisa can state unequivocally that there are no records in this University of any student by that name ever having registered with this institution or graduated with a Law degree from this University (sic),” the post read.
A spokesperson for the university confirmed that the post was fake as it was “not in our official platforms”.
"Ms Sarah-Jane Trent is a graduate of the university and holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree, which she obtained in May 2013. Unisa once again distances itself from the statement circulated on social media purported to be from the institution, which was denying that Ms Trent holds a degree from Unisa," the university said.
On Sunday, the National Spokesperson for uMkhonto weSizwe Party (“MK Party”) MKP, Nhlamulo Ndhlela, said that they cannot ignore the disturbing pattern that has emerged when the activities of Trent and forensic analyst Paul O’Sullivan are examined in totality.
The party highlighted how, during cross-examination in the trial involving Duduzile Sambudla-Zuma, Trent admitted that when she laid criminal charges, she was acting on behalf of the organisation Forensics for Justice.
“This admission raises serious concerns about the motives, methods and accountability of private individuals who appear to exercise disproportionate influence in criminal matters involving political figures and public representatives,” the party said.