A principal found guilty of kissing a member of the administrative staff after she had her braces removed and smacking a teacher on her buttocks has failed to have his dismissal overturned.
In an award dated May 30, the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) ruled that the dismissal of Gert van der Westhuizen, the former headmaster of Frikkie Meyer Primary School in Vanderbijlpark, southwest of Johannesburg, was fair.
He lodged an unfair dismissal dispute with the ELRC after the Gauteng education department fired him in September last year for “conducting himself in an improper, disgraceful and unacceptable manner”.
Van der Westhuizen was also found guilty of assaulting pupils in 2021 with a pipe he hid in the toilets.
The staff member, whom Van der Westhuizen kissed, testified that on October 11 2021, after she had had her teeth braces removed, he approached her in the passage, removed her mask and kissed her.
According to the transcript, it was not a “pik soentjie” or French kiss but a “soft kiss” that made her feel uncomfortable.
She also felt uncomfortable when he told her after kissing her to tell her husband that he was the first one to kiss her after her braces were removed.
Van der Westhuizen admitted in his testimony that he had kissed the staff member on her lips but said she had no objection to being kissed.
He stated the kiss “had been quick and perfunctory and was given with no sexual intent”.
“The applicant [Van der Westhuizen] admitted telling her she should tell her husband that he was the first one to have kissed her since the removal of her braces.
“He testified that it was all a bit of lighthearted banter occasioned by the joy of celebrating her braces being removed.”
He testified that it was all a bit of light-hearted banter occasioned by the joy of celebrating her braces being removed.
A teacher, who had been at the school for about four months, testified he had approached her on his way to his office “and smacked her bum, said nothing and continued on walking”.
“As he was about to enter his office, he turned back to her and smiled.”
The teacher was “in shock and speechless by what had just happened” and knew his conduct was “inappropriate and that her boss was not supposed to touch her like that”.
But Van der Westhuizen said he had walked past the teacher’s classroom and observed the children were very quiet.
“He noticed her standing in the doorway of her class and he patted her as he wanted to pass a compliment for the children’s good behaviour. He denied he slapped her on the buttocks.”
A senior circuit official testified he started receiving reports from female staff that Van der Westhuizen “was touching them inappropriately”.
“Mention was also made of photos of him dancing in the school bus without his shirt on during an educator team-building exercise.”
ELRC arbitrator Mark Hawyes said he did not find Van der Westhuizen to be a good witness and that his version was not always consistent.
“I find that his behaviour was not justified and, in fact, he demonstrated a measure of unjustified power over the witnesses, all women, and seemed to take delight in ignoring their feelings of discomfort and continued his behaviour.”
Hawyes said Van der Westhuizen admitted to administering corporal punishment to pupils in the past and “it is probable that he did so on this occasion as well”. He was referring to the incident involving the pipe which was allegedly hidden in the toilet.
Van der Westhuizen, who vehemently denied slapping the teacher on her buttocks, told TimesLIVE Premium that “hearsay” evidence was used, adding: “It is a phase of my life that is over now and I must start afresh. It kills you, you know, with no more pension and medical aid.
“I believe that God put me on something, on a new track and this is the end of an era in my life which is not a very nice one.”
Commenting on the staff member he admitted to kissing, Van der Westhuizen, who had been in the teaching profession for 30 years, said: “On the morning she was going to take off her teeth braces, I told her, ‘I am going to give you a big kiss and we laughed about it.’”
After she returned, “she smiled and I went to her and said, ‘ja, it looks beautiful’ and I kissed her.”
“We were all happy for her. I didn’t bring any bodily harm to anyone. I lifted children up and took them from feeling they’re worth nothing and giving them a purpose in life.”
He said on the issue of corporal punishment, he was told during the hearing that it could have taken place in the past and “I said it could have happened and that is why they found me guilty of that”.
He said he was trying to find work to do, “doing odd jobs and trying to make a business”.
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