PHUTI MOSOMANE
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa says government will intervene at the University of Fort Hare following what has been described as ‘a planned assassination attempt’ on UFH Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sakhela Buhlungu.
“This is a concerning matter, taking place at the back of ongoing investigation by the SIU which shows there is much more happening at that University. We are going to involve the ministers of police and higher education to see what interventions we are going to deploy,” said Ramaphosa on Monday.
Buhlungu’s bodyguard, Mboneli Vesele, was killed on Friday night when shots were fired at the Vice-Chancellor’s car outside his Alice campus residence in the Eastern Cape.
Buhlungu escaped unharmed, and has since been moved to a safer location, according to the university spokesperson JP Roodt.
“The vice-chancellor is unharmed, survived a planned assassination attempt and is at a safe location,” Roodt said.
The university said Buhlungu will not be intimidated from doing his job and to fight corruption at Fort Hare.
Meanwhile, Universities South Africa (USAF) said it was shocked by the murder of UFH Vice-Chancellor’s security aide and driver.
“The Board of Directors of Universities South Africa (USAf) expresses its shock at the murder of the University of Fort Hare (UFH) Vice-Chancellor’s security aide and driver, Mr Mboneli Vesele – in what the University has reported as an assassination attempt on UFH’s Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Sakhela Buhlungu,” it said.
The driver had just dropped off Buhlungu at his university residence at Dikeni (formerly Alice) when the car he was driving was showered with bullets.
The vehicle used to commit the murder, which is reportedly a stolen, was later found abandoned just outside the town of Dikeni.
According to the university, this was the second attempt on Professor Buhlungu’s life after his home was fired at in March.
Shortly thereafter, the home of another senior UFH official was also fired at – all of these as the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was beginning to investigate various counts of corruption at Fort Hare, reportedly related to cleaning and gardening tenders and fraudulent issuing of qualifications.
“As Vice-Chancellors, we are deeply saddened by this particular development, which took place within the premises of a University Campus. Reports which indicate that this might have been an attempt on the life of our colleague, Professor Buhlungu, are hugely shocking,” USAf’s Chairperson, Professor Sibongile Muthwa, said.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the violence being meted out repeatedly on the senior management at Fort Hare, and at others in several of our campuses in recent years.”
“Our hearts go out to Professor Buhlungu, his executive management team and the University community. Our condolences also go to the family, friends and colleagues of Mr Mboneli Vesele, whose life was taken in this manner,” Muthwa said.
In May 2022,the university’s Fleet manager Petrus Roets was gunned down in his vehicle after the completion of his testimony in a disciplinary hearing against his colleague.
“The attempted assassination of the Fort Hare University Vice-Chancellor must be condemned at the highest level; his security detail did not survive. This is what happens when you take a stand against corruption,” Free State University Professor Jonathan Jansen said.
Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande has condemned the murder of Vesele.
“I outrightly condemn this barbaric murder of Mr Vesele and the attempt on the life of Professor Buhlungu. This attack is not only an attack on the University of Fort Hare but also an attack on the entire Post School Education and Training sector.”
“I also encourage all the Vice Chancellors (VC) and TVET College Principals to engage with my Department on all security related issues to enable us to engage with the Cabinet Security Cluster, particularly on security concerns that have an impact on the institutions’ ability to perform their duties,” Nzimande said.
The department is providing psycho-social support to Vesele’s family and university staff.
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