The governance battle triggered by the precautionary suspension of Professor Sakhela Buhlungu, the vice-chancellor of the University of Fort Hare (UFH), has escalated after two sitting council members warned colleagues of a looming institutional crisis.
In a letter dated 3 April, appointed councillors Judith Favish and Kuselwa Marala said they were alarmed by “contested authority, procedural strain and unresolved tensions” at the top of the university, citing the marginalisation of minority views, council “overreach” into operations and what they called “weak adherence” to meeting procedures.
The pair also criticised an increased reliance on task teams reporting to the council executive committee (Exco) to do work they said should be handled by the council itself, warning that the pattern “threatens the integrity of governance” at UFH.
Support and resistance
They said the tensions were playing out in a region marked by poverty, unemployment and limited formal-sector opportunities, conditions they argued heighten contestation inside the university.
“The VC’s efforts to investigate and act against corruption have been widely applauded within and beyond the university, but there are also many who are angered by these efforts for various reasons.
“We believe that the campaign mounted towards the end of 2025, demanding that ‘Buhlungu must go’, cannot be disregarded as a factor that has contributed to the unhealthy environment within which the Council operates,” they wrote.
The letter links the current standoff to UFH’s broader socio-political environment in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa and to the heightened pushback that followed Buhlungu’s drive to tackle corruption, which the authors say has attracted both support and resistance within and beyond the institution.
A key point of dispute, Favish and Marala said, was the council’s response to a breach of Section 19(1) of the UFH Statute in executive appointments, a matter first disclosed by Buhlungu. They said the council agreed disciplinary action was needed against all implicated officials but split over whether to place the vice-chancellor on precautionary suspension.
They wrote that supporters of the suspension presented it as a neutral administrative step, while opponents argued it was disproportionate, given the vice-chancellor’s disclosure, the absence of malice and an already fragile institutional climate.
The authors also raised concerns about procedure, alleging that a counterproposal was not entertained, that councillors were pushed into a single motion, and that there was resistance to recording the outcome as a majority decision rather than a consensus.
Favish and Marala said similar concerns arose during discussions on the composition of a vice-chancellor selection panel and revised recruitment procedures. They said the changes expanded political and stakeholder representation while reducing the role of academics and students, a shift that critics warned could politicise the process and weaken institutional autonomy.
Letter circulated to council members
While rejecting claims that they represent an “old guard”, the two councillors said they support change and innovation, but not at the expense of fair process, transparency and properly recorded decisions.
They warned that speed could not substitute for due process, arguing that a strong council must accommodate dissent and deliberate rigorously to protect the institution’s long-term integrity.
UFH spokesperson JP Roodt confirmed the university had received the correspondence and that the registrar had circulated it to council members for consideration at an appropriate meeting.
“It would be premature to comment on the contents before the matter has been considered through our council’s procedures,” he said.
Roodt said it was “deeply regrettable” that the letter’s contents were made public before the council had considered it.
Disciplinary processes are proceeding
Council chair Dr Siyanda Makaula said last week that Dr Nthabi Taole-Mjimba, the deputy vice-chancellor for research, partnerships and innovation had been appointed acting vice-chancellor with immediate effect.
The appointment followed the council’s decision to place Buhlungu on precautionary suspension pending a disciplinary process linked to the findings from a forensic investigation into executive appointments. The ''mandatory governance approval procedures" were not followed, according to the forensic report.
In a message to the university community, Makaula said the acting appointment was intended to ensure stability and continuity while due process runs its course.
Taole-Mjimba will serve in the acting role until the disciplinary proceedings are concluded.
Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela said on Tuesday he met Makaula for a briefing on efforts to stabilise the institution after seven buildings were set alight last year.
“I’ve also been briefed extensively on the disciplinary processes, not just of the vice-chancellor, but also various other senior officials,” Manamela said.
He said he urged the council to act swiftly, fairly and justly, and to protect the university’s stability. On 7 April, a student group on the Alice campus, Young Brightest Motivated Minds (YBMM), criticised media coverage of the dispute involving the UFH council.
YBMM, which organised protests during the unrest at the university in October 2025 before the arson attacks, expressed its “deep anger and outright rejection" of what it called a coordinated media “onslaught” directed at the council.
“What we are witnessing is not journalism, but a well-orchestrated propaganda campaign designed to shield individuals, particularly the outgoing retired [and] suspended VC Prof Buhlungu, from accountability while distorting the truth before the public,” the statement said.
This article was published on the University World News site.