VC suspended, letter to president reveals toll on family

Dr Beata Mtyingizana-Buhlungu. Her cries to President Cyril Ramaphosa and colleagues fell on deaf ears. Pic supplied

As University of Fort Hare (UFH) Vice-Chancellor Professor Sakhela Buhlungu faces disciplinary action following years of corruption-busting at the historic South African institution, his wife, in a letter to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, has documented the heavy toll this has taken on his family.

Buhlungu was suspended on Monday (30 March) via communication from Dr Siyanda Makaula, the chairperson of the University of Fort Hare council, who said that the council had considered written representations, a forensic investigation report, and “all relevant circumstances” before reaching its decision.

The context behind the current goings-on at the institution, where several of Africa’s leaders studied, relates to the appointment of two senior executives – appointments that were not ratified by the institution’s senate and council.

When the oversight was discovered, Buhlungu alerted the council to the problem and sought to rectify it. But the council allegedly ignored the findings in the report into the matter, which found no wrongdoing, and still went ahead with the suspension. It will also pursue formal disciplinary proceedings against the vice-chancellor.

University insiders say the “knives have been out” for Buhlungu. His efforts to clean up corruption at the university started several years ago. In this time, staff members have been murdered, he had faced assassination attempts and the university was set on fire by students in October 2025 in what has been seen as part of the efforts to undermine his work. Several probes by South Africa’s Special Investigating Unit are ongoing.

Allegations of victimisation

On Wednesday, University World News obtained a copy of a letter entitled, ‘Mr President you failed me’, addressed to President Cyril Ramaphosa and dated 27 February 2026.

In this letter, Dr Beata Mtyingizana-Buhlungu, Buhlungu’s wife, describes the family’s three-year ordeal which has left her medically disabled, financially destitute and unable to secure employment, while her children’s education and security have been severely disrupted. The letter suggests they were victimised because of the anti-corruption efforts of her husband.

The human cost described in the letter underscores the far-reaching consequences of protracted administrative and legal battles – consequences that, for one family, extend well beyond campus walls.

Asked why this has happened, Beata Mtyingizana-Buhlungu told University World News: “Corruption! Corruption! Corruption. The ANC is draining money from universities for the party. UFH was a major cash cow which Sakhela interrupted and rendered the party broke.”

Letter to the president

The letter, addressed to the president and copied to cabinet ministers and parliament’s higher education leadership, follows a Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration ruling earlier this year that found her dismissal from Nelson Mandela University (NMU) to have been unfair after a prolonged labour dispute. NMU is also in the Eastern Cape, the same province where UFH is located.

According to the letter, the period leading up to and following her dismissal coincided with escalating violence and instability at the UFH, including the assassination attempts targeting her husband.

“Lives were lost,” she wrote, stating that the combined pressures of workplace conflict, security threats and prolonged litigation led to repeated hospitalisation, psychiatric treatment and ongoing psychological care.

She says she is now on lifelong medication, taking “10 pills a day”, and has spent more than ZAR3 million (about US$176,800) on medical costs over three years, with monthly treatment expenses continuing indefinitely.

Devastating impact

The financial impact on the family has been devastating, she claims. Legal costs, alone, exceeded ZAR3 million, while her inability to work has resulted in a significant loss in income.

According to the letter, extensive debt arising from these expenses has rendered her “unemployable”, as credit checks and vetting processes flag liabilities she says she can never realistically clear.

The consequences have extended to the couple’s children. One child was forced to withdraw from university due to unpaid fees, despite efforts to negotiate with administrators. Education, life and insurance policies accumulated over more than a decade reportedly lapsed, and a vehicle purchased to mark a daughter’s academic achievement was facing repossession at the time the letter was written.

Three years ago, her son was threatened by a gunman while at school and her daughter was almost kidnapped while on campus. On both occasions, the children were saved by their friends.

While documenting her family’s collapse, the letter expresses anger at what she characterises as institutional and political indifference to her situation. She alleges that senior government figures were aware of her and her family’s plight but failed to intervene meaningfully.

The letter recounts verbal assurances that her case had been “resolved”, engagements with senior advocates, and even meetings with ministers that ultimately came to nothing.

“I won at the CCMA,” she wrote, “but nothing in that award restores my life.”

Questions about instability

Throughout the correspondence, she raises questions about accountability in the higher education sector, asking how public universities under financial strain could justify spending millions on prolonged legal battles while staff and students suffer.

The letter stops short of calling for specific remedies but repeatedly poses the same question to the state: who bears responsibility for the damage inflicted on families caught in institutional conflict?

Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya did not comment.

• Universities South Africa (USAf), a membership organisation representing South Africa’s 26 public universities, said in a statement it has noted the recent developments at the Mangosuthu University of Technology (not mentioned in this article) and the University of Fort Hare, where Vice-Chancellors, Professor Nokuthula Sibiya and Professor Sakhela Buhlungu, respectively, were placed on precautionary suspension pending the outcome of disciplinary processes.

“The USAf board believes that the mere existence of allegations and the application of disciplinary processes are not grounds for making unwarranted, defamatory statements that attack the persons and reputations of university executives.

“According to the Higher Education Act 101 of 1997, it is the duty of university councils to govern universities. However, university councils must always act justly and fairly, with due regard to the principle that individuals are presumed innocent until proven otherwise. Disciplinary processes must, therefore, uphold the fairness espoused in South Africa’s Constitution and labour laws,” the statement read.

This article was posted on University World News