Rated Reseachers

Prof Victor Mlambo, Professor in the School of Agricultural Sciences is an Animal Scientist specializing in Animal Nutrition and related disciplines such as nutritional physiology, meat science and animal welfare. He has carried out such investigations on cattle, sheep, goats, broilers, layers, indigenous chickens, Japanese quails and fish. He is an Editor of Animal Feed Science and Technology journal published by Elsevier; an Associate Editor for the South African Journal of Animal Science and Associate Editor for the Botswana Journal of Agriculture and Applied Sciences. He has been elected as a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) in 2024.

Prof Tarombera Mwabvu, Professor in the School of Biology and Environmental Sciences, focuses on taxonomy, faunistics and phylogenetics of flightless soil macroinvertebrates, and their response to habitat transformation. Prof Mwabvu has had several research attachments, including at the Zoological Museum at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), the Royal Museum of Central Africa (Belgium), the Natural History Museum (Zimbabwe) and the University of Yaounde 1 (Cameroon). Prof Mwabvi is the Chairperson of the UMP Research Ethics Committee for Animal Sciences.

Dr Mazanai is a Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Business Management at the University of Mpumalanga(UMP). He has been an academic since 2011. Prior to joining UMP, he held the positions of a Lecturer and Programme Coordinator in the Department of Management, School of Business and Economics at Monash University, South Africa Campus, from the year 2014 to 2018. In addition, he held the position of lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Limpopo from the year 2011 to 2013.  

His extensive teaching and research publication experience is in the areas of Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Education and SME Management. He is an accredited Research Supervisor with Monash Institute of Graduate Research (MIGR) and a registered Human Resources Practitioner (HRP-Learning and Development) with the South African Board for People Practices (SABPP). In 2015, he received the Early Career Researcher Award in recognition of his contribution towards research and supervision of postgraduate students at Monash University, South Africa Campus.

His community engagement and academic citizenship activities include mentorship of student entrepreneurs and nGAP lecturers, peer review of journal articles for various journals as well as external moderation of postgraduate research projects for various universities in South Africa, among others.  In addition to his experience as an academic, he has briefly served as a business consultant and high school educator on a part-time basis during the period from 2009 to 2010, whilst pursuing his Masters studies.

He holds a PhD in Business Management from the University of Johannesburg. In addition, he has a Mcom in Business Management, a Bcom (Honours) in Business Management, a Bcom in Business Economics and Industrial Psychology(Cum Laude) from the University of Fort Hare as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education (with distinction) from the University of Johannesburg.  He is a Y2 rated Researcher by the National Research Foundation in South Africa

Dr Tim Forssman, Senior lecturer, runs the Hunter-Gatherer Archaeological Research Project, through which he and his team investigate forager innovations, technologies, and indigenous knowledges in central southern Africa and Mpumalanga. His research interests include forager-farmer interactions, forager economies, trade dynamics, and landscape archaeology. His books include Bushman Rock Art: An Interpretive Guide (2012), Beyond the Dripline: Later Stone Age Changes on the Greater Mapungubwe landscape (2013), and Foragers in the middle Limpopo Valley: Trade, Place-Making, and Complexity (2020). He is currently writing his fourth book, titled Archaeology in Africa: Why it Matters. Dr Forssman is passionate about up-skilling students through experiential learning activities and teaching them the necessary skills required to be successful scientists or heritage practitioners. He is also active within his local community, sitting on the Mpumalanga Heritage Society executive board, as well as on international editorial teams and boards. Dr Forssman regularly publishes on online platforms, is often interviewed in the media, and has developed a travelling museum initiative that brings heritage to people.

 

Dr Salmina Mokgehle is a Lecturer in Horticultural Sciences at the University of Mpumalanga (UMP). Since 2014, she has been working on medicinal plants and underutilized crops. Before joining UMP, she held a position as a researcher at the Agricultural Research Council’s in Pretoria (2017 to 2022). 

Her extensive teaching, engagement, and research publication expertise focuses on sustainable production techniques and the conservation of endangered indigenous crop species. She is an accredited facilitator, moderator, and assessor who is AgriSeta certified. She has presented her research findings at various local and international conferences, including the 10^th African Crop Science Society, where she received the best paper and oral presentation award.

In 2018, she was awarded the second-place winner of the Gauteng Accelerator Programme (GAP) Biosciences (The Innovation Hub) for advances in the development of nutritious, healthy, and affordable products from underutilized crops. She works with various organizations, interacts with communities, and mentors undergraduate and postgraduate students. In addition, she serves as an external moderator of postgraduate research projects at several South African universities. She was the associate editor (mentee) for the South African Journal of Science (Agriculture and Forestry) from 2019 to 2020 and is currently an associate editor for the South African Journal of Botany.

Dr Mokgehle holds a PhD in Horticulture from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She is a Y2 Researcher by the National Research Foundation of South Africa.

Prof Collins Njie Ateba’s research focuses on strategies to reduce faecal shedding of multidrug resistant and virulent bacteria contaminants by food-producing animals and development of phage-based biocontrol/ therapeutic agents for use in the food chain to enhance food safety. These aim to contribute to the WHO-approved Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance and SDG 3 ‘Good Health and Well-being’. He is a panel member of Africa Phage Forum, a platform that encourages scholarship, collaboration, and mentorship among researchers and for the advancement of phage research in Africa. Prof Ateba serves on the Editorial Boards of BMC Microbiology and Frontiers in Microbiology.

Prof Thoko Mayekiso, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Mpumalanga and Clinical Psychologist, is a C3 rated scientist. She was initially rated C3 from 2013-2018 and was re-rated for the period 2019-2024. Prof Mayekiso received her MA from the University of Fort Hare and a D Phil in Psychology from the Free University Berlin in Germany. Her research interests include adolescent adjustment problems, HIV and Aids and community development. She is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa.

Prof. Funso Raphael Kutu is a trained agronomy-soil scientist with extensive research and teaching expertise. He currently serves as Head of School at the School of Agricultural Sciences. He earned a BSc. Honours in Agriculture, MSc in Agronomy (Soil Science) and a PhD from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. Prof. Kutu began his academic career as a Teaching Assistant at the University of Ibadan. He later joined Ahmadu Bello University's Division of Agricultural Colleges in Zaria, Nigeria, as a Lecturer II and was promoted to Lecturer I after three years. He also served as Head of the Agricultural Technology Programme and Coordinator of the 'Students' Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES)' program in the same university. He worked in various institutions in South Africa before joining the University of Mpumalanga in 2018. These include the University of Fort Hare as a postdoctoral researcher, Agricultural Research Council - Grain Crops Institute (ARC-GCI), Potchefstroom as a Senior Researcher, Soil Scientist-Plant Nutrition; University of Limpopo as a Senior Lecturer in Soil Science and Associate Professor (Soil Science) in 2012. He worked briefly as a Team Manager in the Soil Health and Remediation programme at the Agricultural Research Council, Institute for Soil, Climate and Water (ARC-ISCW), Pretoria before joining the North-West University (NWU), Mafikeng Campus in August 2014 as a Professor of Agronomy. He was the team leader for the Plant Production research sub-group in the Food Security and Safety Niche Area, and Programme Leader for the Crop Science Programme in the School of Agricultural Sciences.

The theme for his research is “Improving sustainability and agro-ecosystem resilience through innovative soil fertility and nutrients management practices, and improved soil health for food and nutrition security”. His research works encompass Soil fertility evaluation and management, improved agronomic practices, cropping systems, nutrient dynamics in soil-plant systems, soil-crop-microbes interaction, microbial inoculants, compost science and utilization for soil health and crop yield improvement, and Green Chemistry. He served as Associate Editor in Agronomy Journal (USA) and currently serves as Chairperson of the Mpumalanga Agricultural Research Committee (MARC) on behalf of the Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environmental Affairs (DARDLEA). He is a member of the Water Research Commission (WRC) project reference group. He equally serves as external examiner to many universities as well as assessor for promotion to professorship and associate professorship (readership) in several universities. He has published widely in accredited journals mostly internationally, and graduated Master and Doctoral students. He is a registered member of several professional bodies including the South African Council of Natural Scientific Profession (SACNASP), the Soil Science Society of South Africa, the Soil Science Society of Nigeria, the Soil Science Society of America and the Agronomy Society of America. He is a C2 rated scientist by the National Research Foundation of South Africa.
 

Andrew Maredza is a C2 NRF-rated Researcher and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Economics, Development and Business Sciences at the University of Mpumalanga in South Africa. Prior to joining UMP, he has held various positions between 2013 and 2018 as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor in the School of Economic and Decision Sciences at North-West University. Prof Maredza is a Research Fellow at INTI International University in Malaysia and is currently Guest Editor of the African Journal of Economic and Management Studies. He serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Economics, Business and Politics and on the Scientific Advisory Committee of WindAc Africa.
 
He is co-editor of Research Methods for Economics a book publication by Van Schaik Publishers, and author of book chapters and peer-reviewed publications in international journals and conferences including working papers published by Economic Research Southern Africa. His research interests are primarily in the fields of monetary theory and policy, and financial economics with particular focus on banks, banking, and monetary policy. His other research interests include efficiency and productivity analysis, economic growth analysis, and interdisciplinary studies intersecting the discipline of economics and entrepreneurship. His publications have appeared among others in Review of Contemporary Business, Entrepreneurship and Economic Issues; Research in International Business and Finance; Journal of Economic Studies; Banks and Bank Systems; African Journal of Economic and Management Sciences; Review of Economics and Political Science; Economies; Global Business and Economics Review. Prof Maredza is a member of the Economic Society of South Africa.