The Pretoria High Court has found that Vista University rector Hugh Africa acted illegally when he appointed Prof Mboya to head Mamelodi campus.
EVIDENCE WA KA NGOBENI reports
THE Pretoria High Court has ruled that Vista University council discharge Mamelodi campus chief from his duties because rector Hugh Africa appointed him illegally.
This ruling, which exposes Africa to possible challenges over other controversial appointments he made, follows years of turmoil on the campus which led to the appointment of commission of inquiry to probe allegation of massive corruption revealed by Vista’s National Transformation Forum.
Africa is being investigated for building ”a luxury private bathroom attached to his office” and promoting the secretary to the registrar (administration), S Carstens, to be his assistant and gave her a salary hike from R100 000 to R250 000 per annum.
His deputy Kingston Nyamapfene is being probed for running a private education institution, CompuVista, on campus, using university recources.
CompuVista, a computer literacy business, allegedly uses computers, facilities and lecturers belonging to Vista, which could be forced to shut some of its satellite campuses because of a sharp drop in government subsidy caused by a sharp decline in student numbers.
”The negative differences between 1998 and 1999 levels in particular are worrying, running as high as 27% at the Bloemfontein campus and 25% at the East Rand campus,” Vista University representative Lungi Wolf said last week.
When handing down judgment, Judge De Villiers said the lawfulness of Africa’s conduct in appointing Mboya has been challenged and that facts before him show that he [Africa] acted illegally.
In 1996, Africa, who joined the troubled university in 1996, installed Prof. E Mboya, a little-known academic, to head Mamelodi.
Prof. ER Mathiba, who was acting head of Mamelodi at the time and vying for the top post, challenged Mboya’s appointment, which was also opposed by student leaders at the university.
Mathiba started a dispute with Vista, charging that Africa had flouted key legal requirements when he appointed Mboya and that the 75 applicants for the post were treated unfairly by Afrika.
Mathiba also charged that Africa only presented Mboya’s application to the university council and that he had no authority to do so. The controversy over Mboya’s appointment caused havoc and classes were disruprated for over two weeks.<> But Africa refused to bow down forcing Mathiba to embark on legal action that he finally won with costs last year in September.
Vista spent more than R100 000 to appeal against the judgement.
But Judge De Villiers dismissed Vista’s leave for appeal application saying that he maintained his original judgment that Africa had violated the Constitution and the Vista University Act when appointing Mboya.
De Villiers decision could set a precedent, which could open the gap for other judgments to order Vista to sack other campus directors appointed by Africa.
— The Teacher/Mail & Guardian, February 4, 2000.
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