Former SA Rugby boss Jurie Roux loses another legal battle

According to Media24, a 59-page judgment from Western Cape High Court Judge Vincent Saldanha confirmed that Roux will have to pay back the money he owes the university plus interest.

He must also pay the costs of the application.

An arbitration hearing ruled in 2020 that Roux should pay back the money and that ruling was held up on appeal in 2021.

The money was reportedly taken over a period of nine years from 2002 to 2010, when Roux had access to the university's financial management system.

The irregularities were initially investigated by KPMG and then taken to court, where it was determined that Roux and a colleague, Chris de Beer (then the deputy director of student fees), worked together between 2002 and 2010 where they made "unauthorised" transfers from the university's reserve funds.

In the latest appeal, Roux's legal team had argued that there were "gross irregularities" in the arbitration process and that it should be set aside.

Tuesday's Western Cape High Court judgement means the only options left to Roux would be to take the matter to South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeals or its Constitutional Court.

Roux's ongoing legal issues meant his job as SA Rugby's chief executive became untenable and he resigned from his position at the end of 2022 after 12 years.

Last month, SA Rugby confirmed that its former chief executive, Rian Oberholzer, had returned to the role in an interim capacity to fill the vacancy left by the departure of Roux.