09/01/2023
The Council of Nelson Mandela University has noted the reports of the murder of Mr Mboneli Vesele, executive protection officer to Prof. Sakhela Buhlungu, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Fort Hare, in what is reportedly, an attempted assassination of the Vice-Chancellor of a sister university in the Eastern Cape on Friday night, 6 January 2023.
On behalf of the Nelson Mandela University Council and university community, I would like to extend our sincere condolences to the Vesele family and the broader University of Fort Hare community, including its governing Council, Vice-Chancellor Buhlungu and his entire team.
That murder and assassination are taking place in a higher education environment is a shocking reflection of the difficult times that we live in as a nation.
As citizens of South Africa, we should never allow such acts of violence to become normalised and we call on the authorities to speedily bring the perpetrators to justice. We also call on authorities to support and protect whistle blowers and those who are trying to root out fraud and corruption in higher education and in our society broadly.
Ambassador Nozipho January-Bardill
Chairperson