Appointment of Chief Director: NWU Desmond Tutu School of Medicine
Dear colleague
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Binu Luke as the chief director of the NWU Desmond Tutu School of Medicine, effective 1 April 2026.
Prof Luke is a South African physician and health systems leader with extensive experience spanning clinical medicine and provincial and national health system governance. He holds multiple advanced qualifications, including an MBBS, MD (general medicine), DNB (general medicine), Dip HIV Man (SA), FCP (SA), and FRCP (London), reflecting both international and South African specialist recognition.
Since 2023, he served as project lead for the Desmond Tutu School of Medicine, alongside senior roles within the North West Department of Health. These include technical advisor to the deputy director-general for hospital and clinical support services, programme manager for tertiary services, and head of the Clinical Department and chief specialist in internal medicine at the Klerksdorp/Tshepong Tertiary Hospital Complex.
His academic footprint includes appointments as extraordinary associate professor at the NWU and adjunct professor at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), underscoring his commitment to service delivery and medical education.
Prof Luke’s career reflects a sustained trajectory of leadership in health system strengthening and clinical service development, particularly in the North West Province. Since joining Klerksdorp/Tshepong Hospital Complex in the mid-1990s, he has played a pivotal role in transforming it into a comprehensive tertiary centre, contributing to the establishment of multiple specialist services, including oncology, interventional cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, nephrology, nuclear medicine, neurosurgery and advanced radiology. He was largely responsible for developing and coordinating the distributive training platform of Wits in the North West Province, training medical students and registrars in various clinical disciplines.
His leadership extends to national policy and regulatory spheres, where he has contributed to the Health Professions Council of South Africa through internship training reform, accreditation processes, and policy development, including guidelines for foreign-qualified practitioners and internship programme redesign. He has served on numerous national committees, and currently serves on the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Human Resources for Health. He has played key roles during critical periods such as the Covid-19 response as technical lead in the province. His work demonstrates a rare integration of clinical expertise, health policy influence and institutional development.
In addition to his administrative and clinical leadership, Prof Luke has maintained an active academic and scholarly profile, contributing to the fields of tuberculosis, HIV and health systems, with publications and presentations at national and international forums.
He has supervised postgraduate research and contributed to national discourse on medical internship reform and health workforce training. His contributions have been widely recognised through numerous awards, including the Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians (London), the Ken Huddle Role Model Award at Wits (2022), the SAMA Extraordinary Service to Medicine Award (2024), and the African Health Excellence Award (2024).
He has also received honours for clinical leadership, service innovation and community service (Order of Simon of Cyrene by the Anglican Church of Southern Africa and Paul Harris Fellow at Rotary International). Collectively, his career exemplifies a transdisciplinary approach to medicine, combining patient care, education, research and system-level transformation in advancing healthcare delivery in South Africa.
On behalf of the NWU, I extend my warmest congratulations to Prof Luke on his appointment and wish him success as he takes up this key leadership role.
Regards
Professor Mzubanzi Bismark Tyobeka
Principal and Vice-Chancellor