The Supreme Court has dismissed a former Victoria Falls City Council accounting assistant's application to challenge his dismissal for forgery and fraud regarding his qualifications.
The former employee, Mehluli Sibanda, represented by lawyer Matshobane Ncube, filed a composite chamber application for condonation of non-compliance with the rules and for an extension of time to file an appeal.
The application cited Brian Nyamande, the disciplinary committee leader, Kholwanin Mangena, the council's chamber secretary, and the Victoria Falls City Council as respondents.
Court papers state that Sibanda was suspended on July 10, 2023, for allegedly submitting a forged Ordinary Level certificate when applying for an accountant budgeting and reporting officer position.
The court papers state that he absented himself from work for more than five working days without authorised leave or reasonable cause.
He was formally charged with fraud in terms of section 4(D) (4) and absence from work for a period of five or more working days without reasonable excuse in terms of section 4(D)(5) of the Victoria Falls municipality code of conduct, 2000.
A disciplinary hearing on August 16, 2023, found him not guilty of absenteeism but guilty of fraud, resulting in his dismissal.
An internal appeal was also dismissed.
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Sibanda later sought a review, alleging procedural irregularities, including that Mangena, a non-committee member, participated in advising on the penalty and that the chairperson failed to use a casting vote during a deadlock.
Harare Supreme Court judge Justice Alfas Chitakunye dismissed the application. The council was represented by a lawyer Thulani Nkala
In his judgment, Chitakunye found that while the explanation for the delay was reasonable, the application had "no prospects of success at all" and represented "an exercise in futility."
“The application ought to be dismissed,” Justice Chitakunye ruled, dismissing the application with costs.
“Overall, therefore though the explanation for the delay was reasonable, the absence of any recognisable prospects of success entails that the application cannot be granted. The applicant has dismally failed to establish an arguable case worth placing the appeal before the Supreme Court.
“In compliance with r67 of the rules of this Court, the concurrence of two other judges was sought and obtained on the decision to dismiss the application.”
