…as Appeal Court freezes NUL VC recruitment
…orders Mosito to be appointed Acting VC
Moorosi Tsiane
SUSPENDED National University of Lesotho (NUL) Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor (Prof) Kananelo Mosito, has scored a significant legal victory after the Court of Appeal halted the university council’s efforts to recruit a new Vice-Chancellor before the expiry of the incumbent’s term next month.
In a ruling with far-reaching implications for the governance of the institution, Acting Court of Appeal Judge, Phillip Musonda, this week ordered the immediate suspension of the recruitment process aimed at replacing the current Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olusola Isaac Fajana, whose term expires on 31 July 2026.
The ruling effectively clears the way for Prof Mosito to assume the office of Vice-Chancellor in an acting capacity once Prof Fajana’s term ends. This means the Council will have to recall Prof Mosito from the suspension it effected on 22 April 2026.
Although Justice Musonda’s order is an interim interdict, it represents a major setback for the NUL Council. The judge stayed all proceedings in the substantive case and directed that the council’s appeals be heard during the Court of Appeal’s next ordinary session in October 2026.
The dispute stems from a case pending before the High Court in which Prof Mosito is challenging the council’s decision to begin recruiting Prof Fajana’s successor while the incumbent remains in office.
Prof Mosito argues that Section 16 of the National University of Lesotho Act only permits the establishment of a joint Council and Senate selection committee once a vacancy in the office of Vice-Chancellor has arisen.
In a bid to stop the recruitment process, he approached the High Court on an urgent basis.
The council initially sought to have the matter dismissed, arguing that the High Court lacked jurisdiction because the dispute was essentially a labour matter. However, Justice Molefi Makara rejected that argument.
Following that setback, the council filed an interlocutory application seeking the recusal of all High Court judges from the case. It argued that Prof Mosito’s position as President of the Court of Appeal could create a perception of bias and undermine public confidence in the judiciary.
Representing the council, Advocate Mamello Makau contended that even without evidence of actual bias, the circumstances warranted the recusal of all High Court judges.
Justice Makara dismissed the application, prompting the council to appeal and seek an expedited hearing before the Court of Appeal.
However, Justice Musonda rejected the request for urgency and ordered that the appeals be heard during the court’s next ordinary session in October 2026.
“The applicants’ prayer for expedited hearing of the appeals under C OF A (CIV) NO 24/2026 and C OF A (CIV) NO 25/2026 is dismissed.
“The said appeals shall be enrolled for hearing during the next ordinary session of this Court. The proceedings presently pending before the High Court under CIV/APN/042/2026 are hereby stayed pending the final determination of the appeals under C OF A (CIV) NO 24/2026 and C OF A (CIV) NO 25/2026,” Justice Musonda ruled.
The judge went further and froze the entire recruitment, selection and appointment process for the office of Vice-Chancellor pending the finalisation of the High Court proceedings.
Crucially, he also ruled that once Prof Fajana’s term expires on 31 July 2026, Prof Mosito will automatically assume the powers and responsibilities of Vice-Chancellor in an acting capacity in accordance with the National University of Lesotho Order, 1992.
“The purported ongoing recruitment, selection and appointment process for the office of Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Lesotho, including all steps taken pursuant thereto, is hereby stayed pending the final determination of the substantive proceedings before the High Court.
“For the avoidance of doubt and to preserve institutional continuity and ensure fidelity to the statutory scheme established by the National University of Lesotho Order, 1992, it is hereby declared that, upon the occurrence of a vacancy in the office of Vice-Chancellor on 31 July 2026, section 17(4) of the Order shall take effect according to its terms.
“Accordingly, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor shall, by operation of law and without the necessity for any further decision, immediately assume and exercise all the powers, functions and duties of the office of Vice-Chancellor in an acting capacity until a substantive Vice-Chancellor has been lawfully appointed in accordance with the Order.
“No person, authority or organ of the University shall take, authorise, facilitate or purport to take any action inconsistent with, or calculated directly or indirectly to circumvent, frustrate, defeat or undermine, the operation of section 17(4) of the Order or the assumption of office by the Pro-Vice-Chancellor thereunder.”
Justice Musonda was, however, careful to emphasise that the ruling does not determine the merits of the dispute and should not be construed as a final judgment on the legality of the recruitment process.
“For the further avoidance of doubt, nothing in this judgment constitutes a final determination upon the legality or otherwise of the impugned recruitment process, the jurisdictional disputes presently pending before this Court, or the substantive legality challenge before the High Court.
“The present orders are purely interlocutory and preservative, and are directed solely towards maintaining institutional legality, continuity, and the efficacy of pending judicial proceedings.”
Contacted for comment, NUL Council chairperson Dr Khabele Matlosa said the council would deliberate on the ruling next week before deciding on its next course of action.
“The order was handed over on Monday this week. The Council will only meet sometime next week and deliberate on the matter and on the way forward. For now, we cannot comment on the order,” Dr Matlosa said.
