Prof Vinodh Jaichand, a South African-based academic serving on the Joint Committee of Council and Senate, has received anonymous threats warning him to withdraw or face harm.
The National University of Lesotho’s governing council has gone public with a chilling disclosure: a member of the committee tasked with recruiting the institution’s next Vice-Chancellor has received anonymous death threats, prompting police reports in South Africa and a formal directive from the NUL Council for management to open a criminal case in Lesotho.
Prof Vinodh Jaichand, who is based in South Africa and sits on the Joint Committee of Council and Senate (JCCS), was warned by unknown individuals that if he did not withdraw from the recruitment process, his reputation would be destroyed and he could be killed. Prof Jaichand has since reported the matter to South African police and notified both his family and legal counsel.
The Joint Committee of Council and Senate was established by the 15th Council of NUL specifically to conduct the recruitment of a new Vice-Chancellor. It draws members from both the governing Council and the academic Senate, operating as a cross-institutional body with oversight over the appointment process.
The threats, described by the Council as “dastardly,” were issued amid what is understood to be a highly contested search for a new Vice-Chancellor at the Roma-based university. The targeting of one of the JCCS’s members raises immediate questions about who stands to gain from disrupting or influencing the outcome of the process.
In a public statement issued on Friday, 17 April 2026, the NUL Council said it was “perturbed” and condemned the threats in the strongest terms. The statement stressed that Council members and committee members are unpaid volunteers who contribute their expertise in service of the institution and must not be made to fear for their safety or their lives.
A threat to one member of Council and its committees is a threat to all members.
The Council has directed NUL management to open a case with the Lesotho Mounted Police Service for investigation.
The identity of those behind the threats is not yet publicly known. It is also unclear whether law enforcement agencies in Lesotho and South Africa are coordinating their inquiries.
NUL has not announced any suspension of the Vice-Chancellor recruitment process. Prof Jaichand’s continued participation in the JCCS was not addressed in the statement.
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