The University of South Africa (UNISA) has welcomed the ruling by the High Court in Pretoria that the decision by Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande to appoint an administrator for the university was unlawful and in breach of previous court orders.
Nzimande had appointed Professor Ihron Rensburg as the new UNISA administrator for the next two years.
“The court ruled that the Minister must immediately retract the Government Gazette of 27 October 2023. The university believes that this court decision is sound and correct, given that the matter pertaining to the review of the Independent Assessor Report, which largely formed the basis of the Minister’s decision, is still before the court and yet to be concluded,” says UNISA spokesperson, Nolwazi Mwabi.
Meanwhile, Nzimande will decide on the legal way forward regarding the matter.
“Dr. Blade Nzimande notes the order granted by Acting Judge AJ le Grange of the High Court of South Africa Gauteng division in Pretoria. This order relates to Minister Nzimande’s decision to publish a government gazette on the appointment of an administrator for the University of South Africa. Minister Nzimande will study the ruling by the court and decide on the next legal route to take,” says the spokesperson for the Minister, Ishmael Mnisi.
