MAKHADO – When Prof Fanie Olivier wrote a letter to his colleagues at the University of Venda in August 1998, he had no idea that he would spend the next five and a half years fighting for his academic life … and his honour.

The saga, which saw him dismissed and without a salary for four years, came to an end earlier this year when Judge Pillay of the Labour Court ordered that he be reinstated as from the date of his dismissal on December 9, 1999.

Olivier confirmed that the university has paid him his salary for the whole period, with 15,5% interest. According to the order, made on January 19, the University must pay all the legal fees Olivier incurred in the matter in the Labour Court.

In the letter, which gave rise to his unfair dismissal, Prof Olivier expressed his concern about aspects of the governance of the university. He stated that in the past, crucial decisions were taken without proper debate, and that the Council had never approved the Statute that had been published in the Government Gazette.

The Statute itself states that it was made by the Council, but Olivier says that that was never the case:

"I had been a member of Council all the years, and know that Council never even saw the document in question. How the Principal could write to the Minister of National Education and inform him that Council had approved the draft submitted to the university by the Department, still shocks me."

Prof Olivier told Mirror when we approached him this week, that what had shocked him even more, was that the Principal, Prof GM Nkondo, had instituted disciplinary measures against him for stating facts that most members of staff were aware of.

It is widely believed that this decision of the Principal was prompted by the fact that Olivier had been the whistle-blower who had raised the issue of the credit card the Principal had acquired from the then Volkskas Bank. The credit card matter was investigated by the Heath Unit, set up by Pres Mandela. The Unit established that the Principal had used the card in an improper manner and Nkondo agreed to pay back the substantial amount of money in question.

Even before that incident, their paths crossed when Olivier expressed concern about Nkondo's initial appointment as Principal in 1994. The appointment was clouded in controversy after he had been found appointable by an electoral college that contained no outsiders, where there was no peer evaluation and was dominated numerically by students, according to Olivier.

The issue of the Principal's PhD, which had been withdrawn by Yale University, was also never dealt with satisfactorily.

These matters, reported on by Mirror or its sister paper, Zoutspansberger, over the years, were all raised during the long process and are reflected in detail in the bulky court file.

After the Principal had dismissed Olivier in December 1999, he successfully challenged that dismissal in the High Court in Thohoyandou. The Court ordered that the Principal's decision be set aside, pending the outcome of Olivier's appeal to the university council. The Principal refused to abide.

Council eventually dismissed Olivier on April 1, 2001. He then took the matter to the CCMA, where he won his arbitration matter and was reinstated. However, the Principal again refused to accept the outcome and took the matter to the Labour Court in Johannesburg.

Throughout the long battle, Prof Olivier told Mirror, he was convinced that he would triumph and be re-instated. However, when the Principal was re-appointed for a third term in November last year, he also realised "that all the gross irregularities over the years counted for very little as far as the Council was concerned."

"Under those circumstances, my continued stay at the university after my return would inevitably lead to further criticism of management, and a repetition of the whole story. I had to decide whether another fight was worth it. I have been vindicated and justice has prevailed. I can only hope that my example will inspire other colleagues not to accept improper and unlawful governance.

"An experience of this nature is nevertheless very demoralising and can cause lasting damage to one's health, self-esteem and relationships. But it is imperative that people stand up to fight injustice and evil.

"They must realise that a battle of this nature is a lonely one, and only a few friends remain loyal and supportive. What I shall never forget, is the warmth and goodwill I received from the side of the service workers and many ordinary junior employees at the university who have everything to fear. And those who believed in the cause and in my integrity, and were willing to assist us financially.

"And, of course, my wife and our children."

Prof Olivier told Mirror that he has decided to retire at the end of June, after serving the university for 17 years. A comprehensive settlement agreement, facilitating the early retirement, was earlier reached by the university and Olivier.

Prof Olivier, who is an advocate of the High Court of South Africa, hopes to establish a full-time legal practice when he leaves.

* Following his full, retrospective reinstatement earlier this year, it is clear that Prof Olivier's dismissal was unfair. As a result, the university will have to bear not only its own extensive legal costs arising from the disciplinary hearings and the different court cases, but also those incurred by Olivier. The paper established that the university's bill for the CCMA hearing (which is supposedly an inexpensive process), already amounted to almost R360 000.

Lawyers contacted by Mirror estimate that the final bill to be paid by the university for the entire affair and related matters could easily exceed one million rand.