Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane has cleared the Council of the Tshwane University of Technology of improper conduct regarding the re-election of its former chairperson, Dr Bandile Masuku for a third term.
She also cleared the appointment of former Vice-Chancellor Professor Lourens Van Staden.
The office investigated allegations of maladministration and improper conduct by functionaries of the university following three complaints between 2018 and 2019.
The investigation looked at whether Masuku’s serving a third term as council chair contravened TUT’s rules.
Mkhwebane says at the time Masuku presided over the recruitment and selection process leading to the appointment of Van Staden as Vice-Chancellor and Principal of TUT.
She says, “Dr Masuku’s serving of a third term as Chairperson of TUT Council was neither improper nor illegitimate as the TUT Council relied on the legal opinion obtained from Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs Incorporated in relation to the interpretation of the provisions of section 11(4) and (5) of Institutional Statute,” says Mkhwebane a.
