In the judgement , the court set a side Katholo's forced retirement on the DCEC's Principal Anti-Corruption Officer, Kelennetse Moloko.
This follows a decision made in 2005 by DCEC director, Tymon Katholo. to retire Moloko from the corruption body, after a mysterious disappearance of cash amounting to P53,000 from Moloko's safe.
Moloko took the matter to court, stating that the court made its decision without giving him a hearing.
According to the court, because the applicant should have been charged with inefficiency, he has not been given an opportunity to answer to allegations of prior misconduct bordering on moral turpitude as submitted by the DCEC director. "I must conclude as I do, that the applicant was retired for an offence he had not been charged with or given the opportunity to meet and that the director acted ultra vires the Act, in not complying with the peremptory provisions of regulations of the public act," judge Walia said.
However, judge Walia has turned down an order by Moloko's attorney Unoda Mack, pleading that Moloko should be reinstated. "The result of my decision therefore is that the applicant is still employed as he was on the date of the director's decision.
He was, however, under interdiction, subject of course to the director's decision to bring new proceedings," reads the court order. In an interview with Mmegi, the DCEC director stated that he was not prepared to comment on whether the DCEC would institute new disciplinary proceedings against Moloko but maintained that Moloko was still their employee.
"He is still a DCEC employee but pending the police investigations he is still on interdiction," he said.
Efforts to reach the Criminal Investigation Department who are in charge of investigating the disappeared sum were unsuccessful, as the respective officers in charge of the case were not available. However, reports state that the DCEC has already been given a report on the police findings.
Contacted about the police report Katholo refused to answer and referred Mmegi to the police.
