Confronting the Risks of Institutional Capture

On Monday, 23 March 2026, the Leadership and Management Strategy Group (LMSG) convened its very first webinar to explore a critical governance challenge facing South Africa’s public universities. The event was a response to growing concerns among university leaders about actors seeking influence outside statutory provisions and sound governance practices. These risks are evident in sustained and targeted attacks on executive leadership; political interference and stakeholder pressure to control university resources and weaken institutional authority; and coordinated misinformation designed to distort public perceptions of universities and some vice-chancellors (VCs).

In their keynote addresses, Professor Jonathan Jansen, Distinguished Professor of Education at Stellenbosch University, examined the concept of institutional capture and its various manifestations.  For his part, Professor Thandwa Mthembu drew on two decades of experience as Vice-Chancellor at universities of technology to share real-world examples. Professor Jansen characterised capture as the systematic undermining of a university’s core operations to facilitate looting. In contrast, Professor Mthembu reflected that “when the university is no longer what it is, or when the environment in which it operates compels it to become what it is not, it has been hollowed out of its essence,” leaving its very existence under threat.

This closed information-sharing session, themed Institutional Governance: Confronting the Risks of Institutional Capture, was widely well-received, attracting interest way beyond the target audience of vice‑chancellors, members of university councils, senior executives, governance staff, and invited representatives of the Department of Higher Education and Training. The highly engaged audience contributed their own insights, offering observations and remedial recommendations. Attendance peaked at 141 participants.

While commending the LMSG for its thorough exposé on indicators of institutional capture, some participants urged USAf to examine, as the next step, how institutions should respond to such attempts. They specifically requested a follow‑up webinar dedicated to practical mitigation strategies.