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SUSPENDED for not being at work during illness, Vaal University of Technology (VUT) Vice-Chancellor and Principal Prof Dan Kgwadi has died at age 56.
Kgwadi, who told Inside Education that the university was trying to get rid of him for being absent while recovering from illness, died on Sunday.
After joining VUT in February 2022, Prof Kgwadi made it his mission to clean up the university, which has been plagued by corruption and mismanagement claims, resulting in it being placed under administration.
VUT chairperson Professor Mandla Radebe announced in a short statement that Kgwadi had died.
Kgwadi threatened VUT with legal action after he was placed on special leave after he had been off sick for 14 days, of which he spent five in the hospital. Expressing his disappointment at his shoddy treatment, Kgwadi told Inside Education that he received no sympathy from the university during his convalescence.
Kgwadi was instrumental in setting North-West University on a path towards stability and transformation. His posts on social media during his illness and alleged mistreatment at VUT did not hold back on what was happening to him.
Kgwadi planned to take VUT to court to challenge his suspension.
But the man who replaced him at NWU, Professor Bismark Tyobeka, was full of praise for Kgwadi’s “immense contribution” to leaving behind a university that worked extremely well.
INSIDE EDUCATION