Thebe, Limko messy separation in court
Sharon Mathala | Friday June 24, 2016 17:15
Thebe sought the court’s assistance in nullifying her soon to be former employer’s restrictions. The university amongst other restrictions ordered Thebe not to travel or leave Gaborone (place of residence) without its permission. She is also not to contact any third party that may be a potential witness in the case.
Thebe’s urgent application was heard at the Lobatse High Court yesterday by acting Justice Jennifer Dube. Gosego Lekgowe represented Thebe whilst Moses Kadye represented LUCT.
Thebe is currently serving suspension from her role at the university for amongst other things allegedly leaking confidential information to the media.
In court yesterday, Lekgowe submitted that the institution’s decision to restrict Thebe’s travels was unfair. He said Limkokwing is a public body and should be seen to tread fairly. He said the restrictions have no clear link to her current suspension from duty.
He submitted that the clause that states that she should seek permission from management is unfair because of the sour relationship between the two. “We do not even know if this means she will ever get the permission when needed. They said that she should ask for permission but what if she needs to go to hospital? We evidently know that the relationship with her employer has only gotten worse,” he argued.
“The parties agreed on a mutual separation agreement and before that was finalised the institution then decided to suspend her. They even gave her a final warning. There is no link to the suspension and we can only suspect that it is so that they can finalise their investigations,” he said.
Thebe’s lawyer further submitted to court that the institution has no basis to restrict her from travelling because they could simply ask her to avail herself should they need her for any assistance during their investigations.
“The suspension doesn’t even specify when it will end. If at all they feel she may interfere with their potential witnesses, all they needed to say was that she should not contact them. They could have provided a list of all of them if at all they are with university staff,” Lekgowe argued.
Lekgowe further said the suspension only says she should not contact a third party, and that it is not specified which third party the institution is talking about.
“This is a very vague restriction and is also unfair. She is being deprived of her right to liberty. There is no connection between her travelling restriction and the investigation,” he argued adding that even a prisoner’s conditions and restrictions are better than those imposed on Thebe.
Kadye said the restrictions are only applicable to working hours. “She is still an employee of the university. She is being told to seek for permission only during working hours. You cannot just pack and go; you have to ask permission from your superiors,” he submitted.
Kadye also told the court that the restrictions are only temporary to facilitate the investigations. “The issues being investigated are strictly confidential. This is only to facilitate the investigations and it is going to be only for a reasonable time. The suspension is on full pay; she is being paid to do nothing,” Kadye submitted.
Thebe and Limkokwing allegedly reached a mutual separation agreement sometime at the beginning of this year. A suspension letter for undisclosed reasons was later served on Thebe but Mmegi has it in good authority that the University management in Malaysia is of the view that Thebe may have leaked confidential information on the university dealings.
Whilst details of why the two parties agreed to mutually separate are still unclear, in court Limkokwing through its lawyer said that she is currently serving suspension because she is being investigated for allegedly breaching confidentiality.
“She is being investigated for leaking confidential documents and information. The employer has a right to suspend any of its employee whilst being investigated,” Limkokwing said.
A replacement for Mercy has also allegedly been tipped to be one of the top managers at the university.
Efforts to reach LUCT for comment were futile at the time of going to press.