The University of Venda (Univen) has placed Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Bernard Nthambeleni and Chief Operating Officer Mr Botwe Kraziya on precautionary suspension, confirming months of speculation over the fate of the institution’s embattled leadership.
In a letter to staff and students dated 20 July, Council chairperson Mr Rudzani Mushweu said the decision was taken at a meeting on 16 July “pending finalisation of an independent forensic investigation” into an anonymous letter alleging corruption, maladministration and nepotism. He stressed that the suspension was an administrative measure and “does not constitute a finding of wrongdoing or guilt” against the two men, adding that it was “neither disciplinary nor punitive.”
Mushweu said Council would urgently convene to decide on interim leadership arrangements and appealed to the university community to avoid speculation while the forensic probe runs its course.
The suspension marks the latest turn in a governance crisis that has gripped Univen since early May, when a special Council meeting convened by Mushweu on the same day's notice considered an anonymous letter making similar allegations against Nthambeleni and Kraziya. Nthambeleni successfully challenged that meeting in court, with a judge declaring it unlawful and setting aside its resolutions.
Student protests over governance and academic support disrupted campus activities in early May, leading to the arrest of three students on charges of public violence and traffic offences, before the strike was temporarily suspended.
The dispute escalated further in June, when Nthambeleni sought an interdict to halt Council’s attempts to suspend him, while Limpopo Legal Solutions filed a separate application in the Thohoyandou High Court. The Limpopo Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called on the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela, to intervene, warning of a “breakdown of trust and governance coherence” at Council level.
It is not yet clear what bearing the earlier court rulings will have on the legality of the latest suspension, or whether Nthambeleni intends to challenge it.