BIUST VC stayed-on during ‘investigations’
Correspondent | Friday March 31, 2023 14:54
The failure by the Board to exert its powers on the VC is blamed for not only the outcome of the investigations but also for the perceived harassment and persecution of the whistleblower, who the VC soon turned on with the vengeance of a wounded buffalo.
The whistleblowing report was tabled in September last year before the University Council, but within three months the VC was exonerated, and he out went for the whistleblower who was slapped with an indefinite suspension for allegedly leaking confidential information, the nature of which he is yet to learn. The suspension came from the VC’s office, through a deputy VC.
While the University Council’s investigations would later exonerate the VC, the Maphanyane-led University Board is under the spotlight after it seemed to give the whistle-blowing report a fancy dress-down, as the very subject of the investigations, the VC, was never forced to step aside by the University Board to give the investigations at least some semblance of fairness and seriousness.
The university Board also decided to go silent and never made the allegations and the investigations of the University head, a matter of public interest by way of public announcement the proceedings, raising suspicions that the Board was hell-bent on sweeping the dirt under the carpet. It took other players such as a BOSETU presser to expose the shenanigans at BIUST.
“As the top most leader of the University, the presence of such a figure during his own investigations, is naturally intimidating to any would be investigators, and no one would want to compromise his career by investigating a sitting VC, who is the ultimate authority at the university, hence the natural outcome of the so-called investigations, more like being clothed with the powers to investigate yourself, if not to intimidate and exonerate yourself; it’s a travesty of corporate government principles at the highest institution of learning; VC Totolo, in his desperate bid for survival by hook or crook, has damaged the reputation of a public university, as corrupt, nepotistic,vengeful, and personal fiefdom”, commented BOSETU secretary-general Tobokani Rari.
Asked why her Board did not see it fit to have the VC step aside to make way for fair investigations, the BIUST Board chair, Maphanyane said in response to a Mmegi questionaire: “The exercise was to verify submitted evidence against reality on the ground...the investigations have demonstrated that the allegations are baseless and unfounded. No clear evidence was availed to support the allegations,” she responded.
While the BIUST chairperson does not see it necessary to have suspended the VC in order to get to the bottom of the damning allegations that include the VC letting his own residence to the University for P25,000 a month, as his guests house, unduly attempting to cash close to half a million to furnish his residence, buying liquor with university money while he still enjoys entertainment allowance, attempting to award himself a lecturer’s contract to fall back on, if his tenure is not renewed.
Soon after the investigations, like the wounded buffalo, the VC did not waste time to unleash his ruthlessness on the very same BIUST Board member who tabled the whistleblowing report against him. Malatsi was slapped with indefinite suspension, apparently for leaking information, the nature of which was not divulged but speculation is strong that the said information leak may be none other than the contents of the damning whistleblowing report tabled before the University Council.
For her part, Maphanyane says the Board member was not suspended for the report he tabled, but by management of the University and that it is an employer-employee issues, not for the University Board.
It would seem the now suspended board member knew what could or would happen to him if he was not protected against the BIUST VC. In fact according to the recent court judgement where the VC came off worse while trying to muzzle the whistleblower, among others, Malatsi , as if he saw it coming, had requested for protection against any vengeful actions of the VC.