Graftbuster 'punished'

A whistleblower who exposed corruption in the prison system has claimed he has been hounded out of the Correctional Services Department.

Robertson Tshabalala further stated that the General Public Service Sectoral Bargaining Council handed down an arbitration ruling on February 17 that found he was subjected to "victimisation and harassment" by the Department of Correctional Services.

Tshabalala said he was owed two years' salary, but, even though the department was ordered to pay him the amount within 16 days, he is still waiting.

In 1999, Tshabalala founded a lobby group, the Correctional Staff Forum, which played a key role in exposing corruption in the prison system . He opened the way for an investigation by the Public Service Commission and the Jali Commission of Inquiry.

Then Correctional Services commissioner Khulekani Sitole had to resign after the inquiry.

Sitole - who famously called for hardened criminals to be imprisoned in disused mine shafts - started up a scholarship in his name with state funds, awarded himself bonuses and spent taxpayers' money on overseas flights for himself and his wife.

When asked for comment on the delayed payout to Tshabalala, Correctional Services spokesman Manelisi Wolela said on Friday: "[The department] | is of the opinion that this matter is sub judice and, therefore, prohibited from public discussion.

"The department believes that there is a legal basis for referring the award to the Labour Court for review."

He denied that Tshabalala was forced to resign last year.

Tshabalala wrote a letter, asking the public protector to investigate his treatment by senior managers.

He wrote: "It was clear that I was an unwanted leper not deserving of any relief and protection in the department.

"The department has been ordered to offer me monetary compensation by April 15, 2014."

Correctional Services Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has also been drawn into the fray.

In a letter, Tshabalala urged the minister to call "all those involved in this saga to account in full".

He also lodged a formal complaint to the Public Service Commission.

Wolela said: "The incident of alleged whistleblowing occurred more than 10 years ago, under a completely different management team.

"The management team involved, or implicated, in the previous incident are no longer in the employ of the department."

But that claim is not completely borne out by the facts.

Gauteng prison commissioner Zach Modise was part of Sitole's management in 1999 which, in a tape-recorded meeting, vowed to "root out" whistleblowers.