The principal of prestigious Pietermaritzburg Merchiston Preparatory School claims allegations he is a bully and a sex pest were only levelled against him because he was a “whistle-blower”, who reported concerns about financial mismanagement at the school.
“The principal is of the view the school governing body is effectively trying to silence him. He has made a sworn statement, the facts of which are a serious indictment against some members of the school governing body and staff,” KwaZulu-Natal education head Nkosinathi Ngcobo said in an affidavit filed in the Pietermaritzburg high court.
Ngcobo is opposing an attempt by the SGB to get an interdict, stopping principal Llewellyn Bragin from returning to the school after he was cleared of all but one charge levelled against him at a disciplinary inquiry.
The SGB says the inquiry was a farce and has launched court proceedings to have its findings set aside.
In the meantime it wants an interdict against the department, blocking Bragin’s return.
In reply to Ngcobo’s suggestions Bragin is a whistle-blower and the charges against him were trumped up, SGB chairperson Paul Campbell said Bragin only made the allegations when he became aware of the “plethora of complaints about him”.
“This is more a case of him getting his own back.”
He said the SGB had co-operated with the department and had in May sent all the financial statements and documents and responded to the allegations.
“The SGB has not been contacted again about these complaints and yet they persist in [Ngcobo’s] answering affidavit.
To take his counter complaints and give him credibility as a whistle-blower has questioned the [department’s] objectivity and independence.
— Paul Campbell, SGB chairperson
“To take his [Bragin’s] counter complaints and give him credibility as a whistle-blower has questioned the [department’s] objectivity and independence,” Campbell said.
While Bragin claimed the school had several bank accounts and he had not been given access to many of them, Campbell said the school only had one account into which school fees were paid.
Ngcobo, in his affidavit, said the allegations against Bragin were broadly related to sexual harassment, workplace harassment, unprofessional conduct, financial mismanagement and complaints about bullying from three parents.
He said after the disciplinary hearing — at which the department led the evidence of 10 witnesses and Bragin called six, including himself — he had only been found guilty of one charge — using the school account to fill up his personal vehicle.
The recommended sanction was a final written warning, valid for six months, which had been accepted by the department. Bragin’s suspension was then uplifted.
But when he attempted to return to the school on August 1, the premises had been shut down by a “mob”.
Ngcobo accused the SGB of being behind this protest action.
“It appears it was a carefully laid plan to disrupt the school. To the point where the department is forced, in the interests of continued learning, to further suspend the principal,” he said.
“It should be kept in mind the principal is a whistle-blower against members of the SGB. The SGB is trying to get rid of a whistle-blower at all costs.”
Ngcobo said Bragin had been cleared and there was no reason he should not return to his job.
But Campbell said the disciplinary findings were “unreasonable, irrational and in some cases absurd”.
“The SGB concerns are the protection of extremely young and vulnerable children and the protection of female staff at the school.”
He noted the finding of not guilty on a charge of sexual harassment was put down to being “nothing more than paying a compliment”.
With regards to two alleged incidents in which Bragin is accused of bullying two young learners with special needs, the chairperson found “there is nothing wrong with the principal reprimanding the learner”.
Campbell said the two incidents showed Bragin had an “uncontrolled temper”.
“There are multiple counts where he was charged with making comments, heavily laden with sexual innuendo towards female staff. To brush all of this serious evidence with a finding that there is no rule against compliments is absurd,” he said.
Campbell said no member of the SGB had been involved in the closure of the school on August 1.
“The events are regretted, but they do show the strength of feeling against Bragin which the department acknowledges but chooses to ignore.”
A date for argument is expected to be set on Thursday. At the last hearing, the department agreed Bragin would not return to the school until the outcome of the interdict was known.
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