NETONE chief executive Lazarus Muchenje yesterday got a second
reprieve after the High Court suspended the termination of his employment
contract until the NetOne board has a chance to file its reply to an
application to reverse the dismissal pending the final resolution of the labour
dispute.
Muchenje went to the High Court on Monday seeking to
suspend, at least temporarily, the decision by the company’s board to fire him
on three months’ notice last week, hours after he was reinstated by a court
order.
He wanted the dismissal suspended until the dispute was settled
in court.
When the parties appeared before Justice Webster Chinamora
sitting in his chambers for the hearing of the urgent application, the NetOne
board members through their lawyer Mr Gugulethu Ndlovu, asked for a
postponement of the matter to enable them to file their opposing papers.
Justice Chinamora granted the request and deferred the case
to August 4, but suspended the termination of Muchenje’s contract until the
matter is finalised.
In issuing the interim order, Justice Chinamora said he was
doing so to preserve the integrity of the proceedings and the efficacy of
eventual order that he will grant after hearing arguments.
“The letter dated 9 July authored by the second respondent
and addressed to the applicant shall not be put into effect,” he said.
“No publication shall be made by any of the respondents to
the effect that applicant’s contract has been terminated.”
Justice Chinamora gave both parties legal counsel timelines
of filing their papers necessary for the matter.
He highlighted the areas which he requires the parties’
lawyers to address.
Both must first address the legality of the dismissal of
Muchenje, done in terms of the Labour Act and common law, which requires the
giving of three months’ notice.
Justice Chinamora asked both legal counsel to consider the
Public Entity and Corporate Governance Act, as read together with Public Entity
and Corporate Governance Regulations in particular Section 11, which provides
for the dismissal of a chief executive of a public entity.
He required legal counsel to indicate which of the Labour
Act and Governance Act has precedence over the other.
This is because Section 11 of the regulations when read
with Section 16 the Governance Act provides that “a chief executive of the
public entity shall not be dismissed or be required to vacate his or her office
unless he or she has been guilty of misconduct inconsistent with the discharge
of his or her duties or if he or she failed to comply with conditions of
service or provision of the contract . . .”
Muchenje successfully challenged his original suspension in
court, leading to his reinstatement last Thursday, but the board immediately
followed “due process” and terminated his services a few hours later, in line
with provisions of the Labour Act that allow dismissal on three months’ notice.
He is now suing the company’s board chair Ms Susan
Mutangadura and four other board members — Winston Makamure, Dr Rangarirayi
Mavhunga, Dr Beulah Chirume, Dr Douglas Mamvura and NetOne — in his urgent
chamber application filed at the High Court on Monday. Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment