Prominent businessman and AmaZulu Football Club owner Sandile Zungu will add another hat to his growing collection when he is inaugurated as chancellor of Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) on Friday.
The 56-year-old, who was appointed in 2022, succeeds former human settlements and tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu. Zungu’s tenure will end in 2026.
Zungu’s inauguration also marks a first for the university, as this will make him the first chancellor that comes from Umlazi, a township where the university is located.
In announcing his inauguration, which will be attended by Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande, the 44-year-old university drew a few parallels between Zungu and the institution.
“Like MUT, Zungu’s journey started in the humble beginnings of Umlazi township, where he matriculated from Vukuzakhe High School,” the university said in a statement.
“Engineering was his first love, just as it was MUT’s founding faculty. Zungu completed a Bachelor of Science [in mechanical engineering] at the University of Cape Town [UCT].”
He also has a master’s degree in business administration from UCT’s Graduate School of Business.
Zungu, who lost his wife of 25 years Zodwa Zungu due to cancer in 2016, tied the knot to Nozipho Magubane in 2022.
He will be the fourth chancellor of the university following Sisulu, former KwaZulu-Natal premier Willies Mchunu, and the late human rights activist, lecturer and former Methodist church presiding bishop Reverend Dr Khoza Elliot Mgojo.
Besides his inauguration, Friday will also be big for Zungu on the football front, as his club face Stellenbosch FC in the Premier Soccer League encounter.
The two clubs have a known history of competitiveness and matches between them always produce fireworks.
Zungu, who together with his daughters does not miss his club’s matches, will have plenty of time to enjoy the pomp and ceremony of the inauguration which will start at 10am before heading out to Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch for kick-off at 7.30pm.
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