Mahalapye Council ordered to reinstate former employee

Tebogo Kgalemang
Correspondent | Monday June 7, 2010 00:00

Motlhabane was in 2006 convicted and sentenced to a 10 -year jail term for robbery. He was as such dismissed from work by the respondents on grounds that his conviction and sentence made it impossible for him to perform his duties.

Motlhabane was however acquitted and discharged in 2009 after he appealed against both his conviction and sentence at the high court.

Justice Chinhengo said, 'While it is important to recognize the respondents reason that it was impossible for the applicant to perform his duties because of his conviction and sentence, but now the reason has fallen away as a result of acquittal by the high court.'

Records before court show that Motlhabane's attorney Phazha Kgalemang wrote the Mahalapye council a letter requesting them to reinstate Motlhabane on the 8th October last year and they dismissed his request on the 30th October in the same year.

He then asked the council to reinstate him since he had been found free of the offence, but the council disproved his request. It was then that the applicant opened a case against the respondents for unlawful dismissal. 

The respondent's attorney Mbiganyi Mhizha had argued that the applicant position had been taken by another person. He went on to argue that reinstatement is not ordered where relations between employee and his principal have fallen away.

The judge responded that though this is a fact that has been recognized in many cases, in the case before the court it cannot be said that there is a fallen relationship between the two parties.

In his arguments Kgalemang had stated that there was no hearing carried out by the council and that there was no fairness in dealing with Motlhabane's case.