Vice Chancellor of Fort Hare University Professor Sakhela Buhlungu
PHOTO: Alaister Russell, Gallo Images, Sunday Time
- Fort Hare University Vice Chancellor Professor Sakhela Buhlungu says attacks on those close to him will continue if no action is taken.
- Buhlungu’s bodyguard, Mboneli Vesele, was killed in an attempt on his life. He was moved to a safe place.
- A memorial service for Vesele was held on Thursday.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Fort Hare, Professor Sakhela Buhlungu, has urgently called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene in the attacks against the institution.
Several staff members and officials have been attacked in recent months.
Buhlungu, who was appointed to a second term last year after becoming vice chancellor in 2017, has been credited with implementing recovery strategies and rooting out corruption in scandal-plagued Fort Hare.
The attacks reached a boiling point this week after Buhlungu’s bodyguard, Mboneli Vesele, was shot. Since then he has been moved to a safe place.
The shooting occurred outside Buhlungu’s residence in Alice, Eastern Cape.
The deputy chancellor spoke at a memorial service for Vesele on Thursday where close family and friends gathered.
“I have a question Mr. President of the Republic, are we sure? I’m sure? Is my executive sure? Are my staff safe? At the end of the day there is only one person who can answer that question and it is important that you appeal to the highest authority in the country,” he said.
READ | Fort Hare under threat: Management will only meet with Nzimande once security services give the go-ahead
Buhlungu added that he received a phone call from Ramaphosa after Vesele’s death, and in turn, Ramaphosa sent three ministers to visit the institution.
“We had a long discussion with the ministers and the commissioner. Rest assured that this strategy of these attacks is to hit anyone close to me, this campaign will continue and the smear campaign will continue,” he said.
During the service, dignitaries described Vesele as a gentleman and a close confidant.
Police Minister Bheki Cele assured the university leadership that the police were stepping up their responses to recent violent and deadly attacks in and around the university.
On Wednesday, Cele, along with Deputy State Security Minister Zizi Kodwa and National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola, visited the province, where a multidisciplinary team has been set up to investigate the pattern of threats against the lives of the staff members.
Buhlungu’s bodyguard, Mboneli Vesele
News24 supplied
The team, which will report directly to the national commissioner’s office, is expected to begin its investigations into Vesele’s murder.
The investigative team’s scope will also include other attempted attacks on university staff, including the murder of Fort Hare University fleet manager Petrus Roets, who was shot dead in March last year.
READ | Task Force to Investigate ‘Pattern of Threats to Staff Life’ at Fort Hare University
Cele said this high-level intervention is necessary and must produce results.
added:
It is quite clear that the local police are simply not working fast enough to make arrests and this newly established national team, through their work, must send a strong message to criminals that this government will not be threatened or shaken and certainly not will back off or co-rule with criminals.
The team will include detectives, forensic analysts, Crime Intelligence, members of the organized crime unit and Hawks.
“As the academic year begins, we cannot afford for anyone, be it a student, a teacher, and even a gardener or cleaner in this institution, to feel uneasy about their safety.
“That is why the team must work closely with university staff and the intelligence community to solve cases that will land the culprits in jail. This, I am sure, will ensure that this respected institution does not become a field of extermination”, Cele. saying.
