A high number of teachers in their trade union colours crowded the High Court on Tuesday in solidarity with Letsatsi Ntsibulane, one of the teachers’ leaders who has been controversially dismissed from work by the Teaching Service Commission for unauthorised absence from work. After hearing the arguments from both parties, the High Court will on March 21 deliver judgement giving a ruling where Ntsibulane was asking the court to review and set aside the decision of the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) to dismiss him and holding of his salary.
news
Feb. 14, 2019
NKOATE THAMAE
2 min read
Is Ntsibulane dismissed or not?
Ntsibulane is chairman of Maseru Branch of Lesotho Association of Teachers LAT) and was dismissed from Teaching Service “in accordance with Section 19(4) of the Education Act No 3 of 2010” after he was also accused of announcing teachers strike, absenting himself from duty on the days of illegal strikes and illegally engaging on different occasions one Palesa Mapesa, Nthati Maboee and Teboho Pheane to stand in and perform his duties while he was absent from school. Arguing the case in court before Acting Judge Keketso Moahloli, Ntsibulane’s lawyer Advocate Khotso Nthontho asked the court to put on hold Ntsibulane’s dismissal pending finalisation of his case “that is already before court.”
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He argued: “My client’s reputation has been tarnished and in addition to that my client will never be trusted as he is known as a strikes leader. He said ceasing payment of salary to Ntsibulane meant he was going to suffer a lot because he is a sole bread winner as a family man. “No one is providing for his family. He has got insurance premiums to pay and once he misses payments they lapse. He has got two kids to pay school fees for therefore I strongly appeal to the court to consider my client’s entitlement to a salary.” But Advocate Mafefooane Moshoeshoe defended the Teaching Service Commission’s decision by submitting that the government would financially suffer if it were to pay a salary of someone who has been dismissed from work.
Advocate Moshoeshoe said Ntsibulane’s dismissal became effective from January 31, 2019 and therefore that decision by the TSC cannot be stayed (put on hold). “The court cannot stay a dismissal but can only stay what is about to happen and not what has happened.” According to him if the court was to grant the stay of the dismissal as requested by the applicant (Ntsibulane), by so doing the court would be re-instating a dismissed employee without hearing the merits of why such a person has been dismissed. “The salary has been stopped as much as the applicant has been dismissed and as a result he cannot be entitled to any salary. Why should we continue paying dismissed person as they are so many things to be done?” he argued.
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