A GOROMONZI teacher has lost a High Court bid to block a
pending disciplinary hearing into misconduct allegations that he stole barbed
wire, sold it and pocketed the proceeds.
Chenjerai Nyakudya, a teacher at Nyambanje Primary School
in Goromonzi, is facing misconduct charges after he sold a roll of barbed wire
for $125 and converted the proceeds to his personal use.
The misconduct was allegedly committed in September 2016.
Nyakudya was advised of the disciplinary hearing date, October 30, 2017.
He avoided the disciplinary tribunal and rushed to the High
Court for an order to declare the pending proceedings permanently stayed.
Nyakudya argued the authorities did not comply with the
reasonable period required to conduct the inquiry because more than two years
lapsed without a hearing. However,
Justice Tawanda Chitapi rejected Nyakudya’s application saying the court could
not unjustifiably intervene in on-going proceedings lawfully instituted and
pending before a lawfully constituted tribunal.
If such order was granted it could scupper the disciplinary
proceedings and the worker’s discipline, said Justice Chitapi.
The court also found that no exceptional reasons were given
by Nyakudya to justify the order of permanent stay of the proceedings other
than that he considered that subjecting him to a misconduct hearing more than
two years after the commencement of inquiry amounted to an infringement of his
fair trial rights in terms of the Constitution.
Justice Chitapi said public policy was of paramount
importance in this case as it overrides the need for the declaration sought.
He criticised Nyakudya for dashing to court in a bid to
avoid the inquiry into his misconduct allegations.
“There can be no worse interference example than what the
applicant seeks to do in that the applicant did not raise his concerns about
violation of his rights before the tribunal first,” said Justice Chitapi.
He warned Nyakudya that the tribunal was not a lame duck
because it was competent to deal with his objections.
“The applicant has clearly circumvented the lawfully
constituted disciplinary tribunal by coming to this court for an order
rendering the pending proceedings nugatory,” said Justice Chitapi.
He added that public considerations do not support such
circumventions. Herald
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