Julius Mkhwanazi, the Ekurhuleni metro police deputy chief who is on suspension, has failed in his last-minute urgent application to halt his disciplinary hearing, set to happen this week.
In a judgment delivered on Sunday, the Johannesburg labour court ruled that Mkhwanazi had not demonstrated that the disciplinary proceedings against him were unlawful.
According to court papers seen by Sowetan, Mkhwanazi — represented by the Municipal Employees and Civil Servants Union (Mecsu) — brought an urgent application seeking to interdict pending disciplinary proceedings instituted by the Ekurhuleni municipality.
The application was heard on Friday.
The misconduct allegations, which are the subject of two enquiries, relate to the period between 2021 and November 2023, which were during Mkhwanazi’s tenure as director of operations and specialised services.
Mkhwanazi argued that the charges were formulated with reference to his prior position and under his previous fixed-term contract, and that the municipality was relying on a contract that had since been terminated.
However, the municipality argued that the allegations concerned misconduct and that Mkhwanazi’s change in position to deputy chief did not extinguish its disciplinary authority.
In her ruling, judge Suzanna Harvey said the alleged right relied upon by Mkhwanazi was a right not to be subjected to disciplinary proceedings arising from alleged misconduct said to have occurred under a terminated contract.
“The employee was an employee of the employer at the time of the alleged misconduct, and he remained an employee at the time the allegations were made and the disciplinary enquiry instituted,” she said.
Harvey said a change in position, and the conclusion of a new fixed-term contract do not extinguish Mkhwanazi’s employer’s entitlement to discipline him.
“For so long as the employment relationship subsists, an employer is entitled to call the employee to answer to allegations of misconduct,” the judge said.
“The employee has not demonstrated that the disciplinary proceedings are unlawful. It follows that no clear right has been established. In the absence of a demonstrated unlawfulness, exceptional circumstances warranting the intervention of this court in uncompleted disciplinary proceedings have not been established.”
Mkhwanazi was suspended in November after an internal audit investigation into allegations of misconduct.
His disciplinary hearing is scheduled to continue on Tuesday, with another set of allegations to be heard on Friday.
Sowetan
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.