Justice Ranier Busang dismissed the bid by Cassius Tamaki, finding that he failed to establish either that the decision to retire him was unlawful or that government had violated any legitimate expectation by refusing to keep him in employment until the age of 65. The ruling also reinforces government's position that public officers who move from the teaching cadre into non-teaching positions become subject to the retirement conditions applicable to their new posts.
Tamaki had through his attorney Chabuya Lowani approached the High Court seeking to review and set aside the decision by the then Acting Permanent Secretary Kgomotso Ramoroka, arguing that he was entitled to retire at 65 because he joined the public service under the Teaching Service Act (TSA), which prescribed a retirement age of 65 for teachers. He further argued that Section 5(4) of the Public Service Act protected employees who were already in service when the TSA was repealed from being subjected to less favourable conditions of service. According to court papers, Tamaki received a notice in March 2024 informing him that he had reached the compulsory retirement age of 60 and would retire after serving the required three months' notice. He challenged the decision through representations to the Ministry, arguing that although he had later become a Principal Education Officer, the protection afforded to him under the repealed TSA remained intact. Government rejected those representations and proceeded with his compulsory retirement in June 2024.In court, Tamaki argued that his promotion into a non-teaching position did not extinguish the rights and benefits he had acquired while serving as a teacher. He also relied on the doctrine of legitimate expectation, arguing that government was obliged to honour protections preserved by the Public Service Act.
