Pupil affair teacher loses Supreme Court appeal

THE Supreme Court yesterday dismissed an appeal by a fired married teacher from Bubi district who was challenging a decision by his employer to discharge him for having an affair with a pupil.

Mxolisi Mhlanga, a former teacher at Majiji High School in Matabeleland North, proposed love to a then 20-year-old pupil in 2012 and had sex with her many times in the school's storeroom, in the bush and near a river in Bubi.

Mhlanga was brought before a disciplinary committee for misconduct and violating a section of the Public Service Regulations of 2000.

He was found guilty of improper association with the pupil and subsequently discharged from the civil service.

Mhlanga then approached the Labour Court in Bulawayo challenging his dismissal and Justice Mercy Moya-Matshanga upheld the decision of the disciplinary committee.

Aggrieved by Justice Moya-Matshanga's decision, Mhlanga then filed an appeal at the Supreme Court seeking an order setting aside the determination of the Labour Court, citing the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education as a respondent.

Acting judge of appeal Justice Nokuthula Moyo, who was sitting with Supreme Court Judges Deputy Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza and Justice Lavender Makoni on circuit in Bulawayo, dismissed the appeal, saying it lacked merit.

"There is no basis established upon which this court can interfere with the decision of the Labour Court. The appeal lacks merit and accordingly, it is ordered that the appeal be and hereby dismissed with costs," ruled Justice Moyo.

In his grounds of appeal, Mhlanga, who was a self-actor, argued that the Labour Court erred by accepting the former pupil's evidence, who was the complainant.

Mhlanga alleged that the young woman was bribed by the chairperson of the school's disciplinary committee to give falsified evidence against him.

"The court a quo made an error and did not explain why they chose to listen to the story of the complainant who was a pupil. The court had no evidence that showed that there was real improper association with the complainant," he said.

Mhlanga said the Labour Court overlooked the foul play by the school head whom he accused of destroying the evidence of one of the key witnesses.

Lawyers from the Civil Division in the Attorney General's Office, who represented the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, argued that Mhlanga's defence was weak as he failed to cross examine the witnesses.