Even though Nzimande indicated that he would abide by the ruling, he expressed concern over the court’s handling of cases brought by the council and executive management of the embattled university.
On Thursday, the minister had announced his intention to place Unisa under administration following the recommendations of the Independent Assessor Professor Themba Mosia’s report which made damning findings against the mismanagement of Unisa under its council.
However, this decision was subsequently interdicted by the council and Unisa VC, Principal Puleng LenkaBula following multiple court applications
Nzimande, who on Friday was interdicted from placing Unisa under administration, said he noted the ruling and would abide by it and expressed concern at how the court was dealing with the matter.
“Minister Nzimande will abide by the ruling of the court as set by Judge Kooverjie J, on October 5.
“The minister further notes the reasons provided by the court, particularly on the breach of the order of the court granted by Mr Justice Adams on August 24,“ Nzimande said.
He said he was concerned over the handling of the matter, adding that more than a month had passed without the matter being finalised.
“I remain concerned that although the order granted by Justice (Leicester) Adams, on August 24 has noted the urgency of this matter, the court has not demonstrated any sense of urgency in finalising this matter.
“It is now more than a month that transpired and the matter has not yet been heard by the court. However, the court is able to hear an urgent application by Unisa. To me, this resembles an inconsistency in the application of the principle of ‘urgency’ or prioritisation of issues by the court,” Nzimande said.
He said he remained concerned by the country’s justice and court system which had been used (to) “curtail his executive authority as provided by the Higher Education Act”.
“The minister believes in the supremacy of the Constitution, the law and the doctrine of the separation of powers between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. He hopes that this should not be one of those instances in which this important constitutional principle is violated,” Higher Education spokesperson, Ishmael Mnisi said.
He said his decision was informed by the report of an independent assessor, Mosia released in March and the 2021 report by the ministerial task team chaired by Dr Vincent Maphai which found corruption and maladministration at the institution.
On Friday, following the interdict, Unisa said it welcomed the court ruling.
The university said the order reaffirmed an earlier order by Justice Adams on August 24 and added that it felt vindicated by Friday’s court order.
It said a similar conclusion was reached by the court on August 24, after Judge Adams ordered that “pending the finalisation of the urgent application the first respondent (the minister) should desist from acting on the report by the independent assessor Professor Themba Mosia who had recommended that it be placed under administration”.
Furthermore, Unisa said it had always been of the view that the report by Mosia had erred in its finding against it.
“Unisa has always maintained that the report of the independent assessor is fundamentally flawed, and its recommendations totally misplaced. For that reason, the university has taken the report on legal review to be set aside,” it said.