“It’s closure and an opportunity to move forward. Finally my name is cleared and my professional reputation is intact. I feel relieved. That is very important to me. I am grateful to all those who supported me and believed in my truth,” Taylor told SportMonitor in an interview yesterday. The association filed a notice withdrawing the appeal late last week amid reports that the new BFA regime led by Tariq Babitseng does not want to continue with the case as one of the efforts meant to restore harmony among football stakeholders. “Kindly take notice hereby that the appellant withdraws the appeal it noted in this matter on the 28th of March 2024, with a tender of costs to the respondents,” reads an extract from a notice that the BFA filed with the Court of Appeal in Gaborone. In March last year, the BFA filed a notice to appeal an industrial court ruling, which had ruled that the association should pay Taylor P330, 000 for unfair dismissal.
The money was the equivalent of her six-month salary. The court found that Taylor’s dismissal from the association was both substantially and procedurally unfair. Taylor was dismissed by the BFA last year, just less than a year into her reign for ‘misappropriating' the association’s funds amounting to P8.8 million. At the time of her dismissal, there were reports that she had fallen out with the then BFA president, Maclean Letshwiti. She then decided to take the local soccer governing body to court citing unfair dismissal. The Industrial Court ruled in her favour and found that she was being victimised as there was already overspending at the association well before her appointment. The court further averred that the association was not even aware of the exact amount Taylor overspent, something that weakened its case. It also established that the association violated Clause 24.9.6 of its Conditions of Service handbook, which stipulates that a human resource manager or a representative should be present at every formal inquiry. At the time of the hearing, the association did not have a human resources manager. Also, no representative of the association was delegated to attend the case as an alternative.
