by Prof Tinyiko Maluleke, Vice Chancellor and Principal
One cloudy Thursday morning on the first day of October in the year 2015, a suspicious-looking man wearing a loose-hanging shirt underneath an unbuttoned grey jacket was spotted making his way into the revered gates of the Mbombela Campus of the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).
Clutching a nondescript handbag under his armpit and humming an exotic tune, the man walked slowly but surely, albeit with a bit of swag and a touch of defiance.
The man described above is Dr Kenneth Fhatuwani Netshiombo. It may not have been the first time that Dr Netshiombo walked into the TUT Mbombela Campus, but on that Thursday in October 2015, he entered the campus as University Campus Rector.
Ten years later - on Friday 14 November 2025 - the TUT community gathered at the Mbombela Campus to express gratitude for Dr Netshiombo’s contribution to higher education during a career that spanned more than 40 years. He started as a junior lecturer in psychology and rose through the ranks to the position of Campus Rector.
The TUT executive team and the TUT Council appreciate the contribution that Dr Netshiombo has made to the academic project at TUT.
Yawe! Ngavhe ndi malweTshiombo, nwananga a pfhi Mukwevho! We a vha a tshi dikhoda e, ndi nne wa ha Nyakhumbu-Nyandala! Ndi vhone vhane vhe nguluvhe khulu dzi Luonde, zwibwamutada zwi Luvhola. Vayila-mutshila wa mbudzi ngeno mutumbu vha tshi la! Ndi vhone vha ha Nyavhulungu vhutete vhu lunzhedzwaho nga a ri na nzhele a si na nzhele a fhaladza.
Khezwo!
Dr Kenneth Fhatuwani Netshiombo.