After sitting on a court order directing the reinstatement of a soldier for almost six months, Segokgo reinstated Staff Sergeant Bigboy Opelo who was wrongfully dismissed in September 2022. The reinstatement was motivated by an application for contempt of court, which sought to see Segokgo and Attorney General behind bars if they did not comply within seven days. Opelo earlier in June this year convinced court that the decision of Colonel S.S. Chimbombi and the BDF, took on September 21, 2022, through a letter titled "Medical Discharge- Yourself” be reviewed and set aside.
According to court papers, sometimes in August 2016, Opelo was injured whilst in the course and scope of his employment falling from an obstacle. “The injury was not life-threatening or major. I was given medical attention by and/or through my employer, the BDF, which resulted in surgery and light duty was recommended for me pending my full recovery. I verily swear and aver that I have since fully recovered from the injury,” Opelo stated in his affidavit of the main case. To further cement his case that he was fit, Opelo said on August 12, 2022, the BDF assigned him to escort the then Acting President Slumber Tsogwane. “I firmly aver that the BDF could not have deployed me to such a task of protecting and/or escorting the Acting President of the Republic when I was not fit and proper for military duty. I doubt that the BDF could be so reckless and cavalier to deploy a person who is medically unfit for military duty to protect and/or escort the 1st Citizen of the Republic,” he stated. He shared that on February 18, 2022, a letter was addressed to him to communicate that the BDF Medical Board had found him to be unfit to continue with military duty due to ill-health. The letter, he states further invited him to make representations and show cause why he may not be discharged from the BDF on medical grounds. Opelo stated that he responded to the effect that he disagreed with the employer's intention to be medically discharged because the injuries he suffered did not incapacitate him to perform his duties as a soldier. He also said since the injury, he had been doing Physical Proficiency Tests (PPT) and passed these tests as evidence that he was fit and proper in accordance with the BDF regulations. He also submitted that the medical board had made a finding based on reports when he was still recovering from his injuries and not what obtained at the material time, adding that proper procedure was breached and flouted. Justice Zein Kebonang, who presided over the matter, ordered that Opelo be reinstated to his employment and that he was retrospectively entitled to all emoluments and benefits from September 21, 2022 to the date of judgment.
