The University of South Africa (Unisa) and Vice Chancellor Puleng LenkaBula are embroiled in a corruption scandal.
This comes as a 47-page dossier detailing alleged fraud, financial mismanagement and abuse of power has been compiled and submitted to government bodies.
According to City Press, the document was compiled by “concerned stakeholders” and Sebako Attorneys, who said the University has lost hundreds of millions of Rands due to corruption and mismanagement.
Unisa dismissed the reports as “nothing but a rehash of old and unfounded allegations that have been peddled against the university and the Principal and Vice-Chancellor since her appointment in 2021.”
The University added that the dossier was circulated by the “enemies of the institution” and that it does not contain a “shred of evidence: only innuendo and defamatory statements.”
The dossier alleges that the VC was appointed, despite lacking the required qualifications or experience.
It is alleged that she has “presided over what whistleblowers describe as an unprecedented breakdown in governance and financial accountability,” according to the article.
The document accuses the University of paying the Chairperson of the Portfolio of Higher Education, Tebogo Letsie, R82 million in an irregular security tender.
Speaking to Newsday, Letsie said that this allegation is “outrageous, stupid, baseless and unfounded.”
“I don’t have a tender at Unisa, or anywhere else for that matter,” he said. “These stupid allegations have the potential to put my children at risk of being abducted and ransom being demanded.”
He said the fact that the document does not include: when the tender was advertised, when it was awarded, or which company it was awarded to should sufficiently indicate that the allegations are “nonsensical.”
Additionally, the document accuses LenkaBula of using R200 million in the university finances to pay for personal legal battles against employees whom she unfairly dismissed when they began investigating corruption at Unisa.
Alleged corruption scandal
In addition to dismissing employees without following due process, LenkaBula is also accused of allegedly paying an individual a R500,000 bribe to fabricate sexual harassment charges against a former employee fighting corruption.
The document claims that R218,274 of assets are missing at UNISA, including 436 Vodacom dongles.
The University was further accused of giving honorary doctorates to judicial figures in attempts to influence court rulings favourable to the university and the VC.
It adds that poor governance findings from the Unisa Independent Assessor’s report in 2022 have still not been addressed.
“The university council has both the legislative and constitutional role to hold the principal and vice-chancellor accountable. The failure to exercise a constitutional mandate has brought the higher education department into crisis,” said Sebako Attorneys.
Responding to the allegations, Unisa said that LenkaBula was appointed in a legitimate and transparent recruitment process
“Surely if there was anything untoward in respect of her suitability for the role and/or her qualifications, the selection and credential verification processes would have picked that up,” Unisa said.
The university added that “allegations of a breakdown in governance and financial accountability are grossly exaggerated.”
Unisa has systems and governance structures in place which ensure adherence to institutional policy and national legislation, and, according to the institution, has received five consecutive unqualified audits.
The university echoed Letsie’s claim regarding the R82 million tender, stating that it is “a plain lie, and very defamatory.”
Unisa said that the legal fees it paid for were related to the university itself and that Unisa will always be the subject of litigation and must cover its legal costs.
Unisa denies
On the employee accused of sexual harassment, Unisa asserts that it has the responsibility to take corrective action against any employee accused of violating its policies.
“It is unfortunate that some of our current and former staff members, who have been subjected to disciplinary action, want to deal with their grievances through the media, rather than established fora where they can sustain their complaints with evidence, if they have any,” Unisa said.
The university added that awarding honorary doctorates to local and global figures is standard practice and is not awarded for favours of any kind.
“For the record, between 2021 and 2025, the university has awarded only three honorary doctorates in the law faculty.”
The University has long been the subject of corruption probes. Civil rights group Afriforum and its private prosecution unit, headed by Advocate Gerrie Nel, has been investigating corruption at Unisa for almost two years.
“A clear practice has emerged, whereby staff who are incorruptible and stand in the way of Unisa management’s illegal abuse of power and illegal spending are suspended in order to neutralise them,” said Nel.
He said his inference is that the university’s intention is to remove these people from their positions and allow their contracts to reach their expiry date to avoid a public disciplinary process.
“The government’s failure to support and protect whistleblowers and those who stand up against corruption only seems to be relevant when murder is linked to these exposures,” he said.
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