Church loses bid to dismiss school head, deputy

The Mutare High Court has ruled against the Anglican Church's Manicaland Diocese decision to remove St Faith's High School headmaster Mr Arnold Makamba and his deputy from their positions.

Mr Makamba and his deputy Mr Irvine Mudangwe, had challenged their dismissal from the school by the diocese and the School Development Committee.

After the diocese applied to have the court confirm the dismissal of the pair, Mr Makamba and Mr Mudangwe filed an opposing application seeking to reclaim their positions.

The diocese's application was , however, dismissed in default on Monday as neither the applicants nor the legal representative, Mr Ashel Mutungura, were in court when the matter was heard.

Mr Makamba and Mr Mudangwe had argued that the diocese had  no legal basis to take that decision against them.

In the notice of opposition to an application by the trustees of the Anglican Diocese of Manicaland Church of the Province of Central Africa and St Faith's High School's School Development Committee, the two said they were still the substantive headmaster and deputy of St Faith's High School.

"Our employer is not the third respondent, but the Civil Service Commission (CSC), formerly Public Service Commission, created in terms of section 202 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

"The CSC has a vested interest in the attempt by the first applicant to force our transfer. The CSC not the third respondent should have been the third respondent.

"The second applicant is not properly before the court. No affidavit has been deposed on behalf of the second applicant. The resolution of the board of trustees of the first applicant does not equate to a resolution of the second applicant," Mr Makamba said.

He said the interim order obtained as well as the final order sought were incompetent and the court could not bar them from carrying out their duties.

"We are employed by the CSC, which has not suspended us, has not instituted any disciplinary action against us, nor has it transferred us. In any event, when the third respondent does that it uses the Public Service regulations to discipline or to transfer us. Accordingly, this application was ill-conceived, lacks merit and must be dismissed with costs on a legal practitioner and client scale," Mr Makamba said.