Dillon Pillay
A colleague of the late Professor Mohamed Saber Tayob recalls fond memories after he tragically passed away early Sunday morning in Polokwane.
Professor Saber Tayob was seen as one of the most respected people in the University of Limpopo and around the area of Polokwane. Tayob was a seasonal chartered accountant and an academic who served in the school of accountancy with distinction. He also served as one of the school’s directors in the Faculty of Management and Law.
It was under unfortunate circumstances Salaamedia spoke to the executive Dean at the University of Limpopo, Professor Omphemetse S. Sibanda, who worked closely with Tayob in the Faculty of Management.
Sibanda said of Tayob, “With the students, the impact is enormous. Enormous in such a way the students would delight in finding a way to honouring him. They do understand, acknowledge, and appreciate the fact he was a chartered accountant as noted earlier on. He had a highly held logo to support students properly, to make sure all is put in place by the university to help students to develop towards a particular profession, being chartered accountancy.”
In the Faculty of Management and Law he was respected by people in every department. Sibanda revealed, “You just need to walk in the [school] and you will see the dejection and devastation in the eyes of each and every individual in the school.”
His colleagues remain appreciative of the work he has done for the university. “I’ve lost one of my true, my dedicated and committed soldiers,” said Professor Sibanda
Tayob had worked tirelessly to ensure a level of excellency within the university, and he established this when the South African Institute of Chartered Accountant (SAICA) accredited the university’s offering of the BAccSc degree independently. Sibanda attests to this.
“You need someone who understands the regulators, like SAICA, and the person will be able to rally everybody [the team] towards a common goal assuring the qualification of the program is accredited. It is only with accredited programs we can say the university is running a world-class program and that is exactly, under his leadership, what happened with the school of accountancy.”
Tayob was shot in the early hours of Sunday morning whilst going for a run. In a video circulated on social media, a vehicle is seen stopping in front of Tayob, when an individual got out of the car and shot Professor Tayob repeatedly. A manhunt for the killers has been launched. Tayob was auditing a case of corruption though no motive has been established yet. Limpopo’s, Major General Jan Scheepers, acting provincial commissioner of police, has called on community members with information regarding the murder to come forward and assist police in the investigations.
