Lecturer fired for hurling 'your balls' and 'fokof' at boss fails to get job back

A mechanical engineering lecturer fired for threatening to slap his boss, who confronted him about his tardiness, has failed in his bid to get his job back. 

Sikhumbuzo Nyembe hauled the department of higher education & training before the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) in a fight to get his R232,707 per year job back.

Nyembe, who lectured at the Elangeni TVET College’s KwaDabeka campus in KwaZulu-Natal, was fired after he insulted his supervisor Knowledge Mbambo and threatened to slap him.

Mbambo had requested that Nyembe hand in a file, but Nyembe hurled words such as “your balls”, “fokof” and “stupid” at him. 

This is detailed in a ruling handed down by the ELRC on July 5. Nyembe was charged with one count of assault or “threatening to assault another employee or person while on duty”. 

Mbambo testified that on June 4 2021, Nyembe “pointed a finger at him, threatened to slap him and further hurled insults at him”. Mbambo reported the matter to the campus manager.

Mbambo had asked Nyembe to submit a file before 12pm that day. 

“[Nyembe] informed Mr Mbambo he would bring the file and dropped the call,” the ruling reads. 

“Thereafter, [he] charged into Mr Mbambo’s office, pointed a finger at him promising to slap him. Mr Mbambo ran away from [him]. Mbambo informed [him] that he needed the file. [He] proceeded until he was on Mr Mbambo’s side of the table.”

Mbambo told the arbitrator, Lungisani Mkhize, that “after the incident he felt undermined, intimidated and threatened”.

“The issue made him feel emotional as it was the first time his junior colleague did something like that to him,” the ruling reads.

Mbambo told Mkhize about another encounter at Emaqadini campus “where students received marks for practicals which they did not do”.

“He investigated and confirmed this was true,” the ruling reads. “He was later threatened by two men he believed were hitmen.”

Mbambo was then moved to the KwaDabeka campus. He said it was not the first time Nyembe had disrespected him. He said Nyembe was “used to behaving the way he did as he tore up leave forms previously in his presence and disrespected him”.

Mkhize heard that Nyembe only submitted the file after the campus manager intervened.

Two witnesses, called by the department, confirmed Mbambo’s version. The witnesses told Mkhize Nyembe had admitted that he swore at Mbambo.

But Nyembe disputed the allegations. He told Mkhize that on the day he was invigilating when Mbambo called him asking for the file. He said when he requested to go for lunch first, Mbambo “shouted at him”. He said, “Mbambo then fabricated a story about him that he charged at him when he did not.”

“[He] denied pointing a finger and shouting at Mr Mbambo. When he speaks, he uses hand gestures. Maybe the use of hand gestures made Mr Mbambo feels as if he was pointing at him,” the ruling reads. 

Nyembe said he had been invigilating until 12pm but he was reminded that he had finished at 10am. He said he had been “collecting papers and sending them to the exam office and counting them was part of invigilating”.

Nyembe did not respond when asked why he had not laid a complaint against Mbambo.  He admitted that the witnesses had nothing against him but said “one could never know people’s hearts”.

“[He] testified that the word ‘fokof’ was not an insult and did not know if calling someone by his balls was an insult,” the ruling reads. “I found this to be highly improbable.” 

Mkhize said the deadline for submitting the file was June 4 2021 at midday, but Nyembe had missed it. “Yet when he was requested to comply, he requested to first have lunch. This is an indication of [Nyembe’s] negative attitude and lack of urgency towards his work and his supervisor.

“[Nyembe] did not take complying with his work deadline seriously. Moreover, he got angry when he was confronted about complying with the [department’s] deadline,” the ruling reads.

Mkhize ruled that Nyembe’s dismissal was fair.

“In light of the factors mentioned above, I am satisfied that the sanction of dismissal is fair,” Mkhize said. “Accordingly, the [Nyembe’s] dispute referral is dismissed.” 

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