Minister hits back at Tjivikua

OGONE TLHAGEHigher education minister Itah Kandjii-Murangi has hit back at allegations of political interference raised by former Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) vice-chancellor Tjama Tjivikua.Kandjii-Murangi has questioned why Tjivikua was only speaking out now and called all his accusations “baseless”. In a scathing letter sent to Nust council chairperson Esi Schimming-Chase on 1 March, Tjivikua, who left Nust on 31 March, made a number of accusations.Among these were that Kandjii-Murangi’s actions had corroded the trust amongst roleplayers involved with the institution and empowered certain staff members to act with impunity.“Thus non-performing and delinquent staff members have formed a lobby group enjoying the minister’s support. They are now poised to take over the university and purge it of those seen associated to me,” he said. Tjivikua said Nust would “slide into abyss with no one standing ready to rescue the situation”, as a result of Kandjii-Murangi’s and certain council members’ actions.Kandjii-Murangi has now responded, following the Namibian Sun’s airing of Tjivikua’s grievances last week, by saying his accusations are “baseless”.“After four years of working successfully with the former Nust VC, I say these are baseless and unfounded allegations. Why now as he exists?” she questioned. According to her, the priority now was ensuring that there was stability at the institution going forward. “The stability of our public universities is of paramount importance, for it makes an effective teaching and learning [environment] possible,” she said.Among Tjivikua’s other allegations was that certain Nust staff members were unfairly siding with council members to enhance their own interests. According to him, a direct link in the line of work between staff members and council members was undesirable and harmful to the university.Tjivikua also accused council members of willingly dancing to Kandjii-Murangi tune.Also at the centre of the rift between the two is the cancellation of a disciplinary hearing into the conduct of the institution’s spokesperson Kaitira Kandjii, which Tjivikua said was called off by the minister. A source told Namibian Sun that Kandjii is a close relative of the minister, hence her meddling to stop the disciplinary hearing.Schimming-Chase said last week that Tjivikua’s grievances would be dealt with.“Any concerns a former employee has regarding his previous workplace will be dealt with by his line manager, the chair of the council in this instance, with appropriate input from the relevant line ministry,” she said. “It is not the function of Nust council to deal with former employee grievances. This function lies within human resources and an HR officer will be in touch with [Professor] Tjama Tjivikua at the appropriate time to discuss any issues he may have since his departure from the university in March 2019,” she added.

Minister hits back at Tjivikua

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-08

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Minister hits back at Tjivikua

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Namibian Sun 2026-01-08

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