Publications
REVIEW OF PROF LETLHOKWA MPEDI’S “FROM PREDATOR TO PREY”
By Prof Tinyiko Maluleke, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Tshwane University of Technology.
There is a sense in which Prof Mpedi’s work, From Predator to Prey, discusses the important subject of leadership during a similar kind of epoch in the world. Except that ours may be the best of times for a tiny minority and the worst of times for the vast majority. Our world may be slipping into a things-fall-apart- moment a la William Butler Yates’ Second Coming - a period where “the best lack conviction and the worst are full of passion”. Although there is no dearth of books on leadership, a leadership crisis is upon the world, nevertheless. Prof Mpedi’s From Predator to Prey tackles the subject of leadership from an unusual and fresh angle, namely, that of leadership lessons from the animal kingdom. In this sense Prof Mpedi’s book takes us back to our roots in the animal kingdom - from whence humanity comes and to which humanity belongs. Unlike those who choose to praise humanity for having risen to the top of the food chain in the animal world, by outfoxing and subduing the animal kingdom, Prof Mpedi is cognisant and respectful of humanity’s original and continued locatedness within the animal kingdom. There is a second sense in which Prof Mpedi’s book takes us back to our roots. Taking his cue from the African wild, Prof Mpedi adopts a bold, deliberate African approach to leadership, deeply embedded in the values of uBuntu. And yet, he is mindful of the extent to which engineers, entomologists, biologists, and technologists have taken inspiration and lessons from various animals to produce some of the most amazing innovations of our times. Similarly, he boldly outlines leadership lessons after leadership lessons, gleaned from the behaviours and instincts of animals. From the hunting strategies of predators to the agility of quick-thinking antelope and the resilience of such
To promote the Feb 2026 TUT VC’s Book of the Month, we spoofed Dickens’ much-quoted classic A Tale of Two Cities. Hence our advertorial title: “A Tale of Two Vice Chancellors … and a Book”. The truth, however, is that at the centre of our conversation on the 20th of February 2026, was the tale of one Vice Chancellor - Professor Letlhokwa George Mpedi – based on his inspirational book, From Predator to Prey: Leadership Lessons from the African Wild and Beyond. And yet, maybe there was something a tad prophetic about our playful referencing of Dickens, whose book famously opens with the unforgettable words, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness …”
ALUMNI IMPUMELELO
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