Twenty-three years of no promotion...
Mpho Mokwape | Thursday July 30, 2015 14:44
According to court documents, Kemolatlhe has been with the Botswana Police Service since April 22, 1992 as a constable, which rank he holds today.In this suit, filed at the High Court on July 15, 2015, Kemolatlhe is demanding that he be promoted to the rank of superintendent, with the promotion made effective from 2010. The AG and police were served on July 22 and 24 respectively. In his founding affidavit, Kemolatlhe explained that after joining the police service he went for a year’s training at BPS College and successfully graduated as a constable in 1993. His affidavit tracks all the stations he has been moved to all the way up to his current station in Lobatse. None of the movements have involved a promotion. “On or about March 2, 2013, I was transferred from Charleshill Police Station to Woodhall in Lobatse, still under the Criminal Investigation Department without promotion,” he said. Kemolatlhe said for the past 23 years he had been overlooked while his colleagues were progressing despite holding the same qualifications as him. “I have passed proficiency examinations many times and I have never been cautioned for poor performance nor have my superiors ever complained about my performance,” he argued. The latest suit is not Kemolatlhe’s first against the police concerning his non-promotion. “On or about February 3, 2003 I instructed an attorney to lodge a complaint on my behalf with the then Commissioner of Police for my lack of progression since joining the Botswana Police Service. “The then Commissioner Thebeyame Tsimako responded by letter on February 17, 2003 in which he indicated that he would not respond to my enquiry unless it was routed through proper channels within the police service.” According to Kemolatlhe, in August 2010 he met with the Commissioner in Charleshill and discussed his grievances about lack of progression. “I met Commissioner Tsimako and raised the issue of my lack of progression as at the time I had served the BPS for 19 years. The Commissioner assured me that he had heard my outcry and promised me that he would attend to the issue. “A period of two years lapsed without any response from the Commissioner,” the disgruntled constable said. On August 20, 2012, Kemolatlhe said he wrote a letter to the Commissioner making reference to the meeting of August 2010. He said the then acting Commissioner responded that he was unable to promote him due to non-availability of vacant posts. “Realising that I was going nowhere with the Office of the Commissioner, I appealed the issue to the Minister of Defence, Justice and Security by letter and he responded that he did not respond to grievances with regards to progression.” Kemolatlhe said he had attended numerous training events since joining the police service including Initial Investigation Course as well as light and heavy-duty driving. “I also acted in the post of Assistant Superintendent from April 10, 2007 until April 29, 2007. During the period of my acting, I executed the duties with excellence and to the satisfaction of the superiors and despite such excellent execution of duties of a much higher rank, I was still not promoted,” he said. Kemolatlhe pointed out that all the grievances he had lodged with different officials had resulted in him being charged with a disciplinary offence. “On about August, 26, 2013 a decision was taken to charge me with a disciplinary offence as they were of the opinion that I disregarded the laid down protocol of communication, which is an outright misdemeanor by myself,” he said. He said on March 19, 2014 he was served with a charge of discreditable conduct to which his attorney wrote to the Commissioner asking that the charges be dropped. The disgruntled constable is also seeking to be paid the sum of P4,600 as compensation for a damaged television to be paid with 10 percent interest calculated per annum from March 15, 2015. Court dates have not yet been set for the trial.