K-word ends commander's 32-year career

A police commander who used the k-word in a meeting has lost a three-year fight to keep his job.

The 32-year career of Captain Nicholaas Alberts, of Suurbraak, near Swellendam, was ended in the Labour Court in Cape Town, which confirmed his dismissal.

The SA Police Service went to court after Alberts won an appeal against his dismissal.

• Unrepentant captain fired for using k-word in police station meetingA police commander who used the k-word in a station meeting has lost a three-year fight to keep his job.

Judge Hilary Rabkin-Naicker was scathing about his lack of remorse: "It appears that [Alberts] does not comprehend what the implications of the words he uttered are in this land, and under our constitution."

In papers before the court, Alberts said he had used an idiom in a meeting in January 2014 when staff complained about cost cuts. 

"I was frustrated by the issue, specifically the fact that my hands were proverbially tied. I then uttered the phrase while tapping on my chest: 'Dit gaan nie oor my nie, ek is nie god van k*****land nie en dit is slegs 'n spreekwoord'." ["It is not about me. I am not the god of k*****land. It is merely a saying."]

He said the phrase was an archaic way to explain helplessness.

"It means that one is not a tin god. I did not refer to any person as a 'k*****'. The k-word is not used in isolation, but rather in front of the word 'land'.

Rabkin-Naicker said the Constitutional Court had made it clear the use of the k-word on its own, or in combination with other words, was "unspeakable". She had agreed to hear the police appeal, even though it had approached the court too late, because of "the importance of this case to employment relations within the SAPS, and to the public interest".