CCMA orders Univen to reinstate Nemadzivhanani

Former Univen registrar Mr Khuliso Nemadzivhanani, who was suspended and subsequently dismissed by the university in 2011, had the last laugh when the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) sitting in Polokwane recently cleared him of all charges.

The CCMA ordered that he be reinstated to his previous position and that the university reimburse him to the tune of more than a million rand.

He was initially found guilty of misconduct in that he had assisted in giving a cleaning-service provider a tender without following tender procedures. The university has been ordered to reinstate Nemadzivhanani to his position before December 2013.

Nemadzivhanani's dismissal from his position as registrar received widespread coverage in the media in 2011. He then appealed against his dismissal to the Univen council’s appeals committee in 2012. The matter was finalised in August 2012.

The appeals committee was divided on the matter. The appeals committee chairperson, a legally trained member of parliament, wrote a minority report, stating that Nemadzivhanani was not guilty of any charges except one sub-charge and recommended a final written warning. The other two members insisted on finding Nemadzivhanani guilty but did not provide any reasons. They recommended dismissal. The Univen council accepted the report of the two members.

Nemadzivhanani then approached the CCMA for relief. The matter was heard over eight days. After listening to the evidence on both sides, the commission found that the university had failed to prove that the dismissal of Nemadzivhanani was for a fair reason in terms of the relevant act. The commission concluded that the university’s case against Nemadzivhanani was very thin, and that he should not have been dismissed as none of the charges was proved.

The CCMA found that the evidence showed that Nemadzivhanani did not do anything without the knowledge and consent of the then acting vice-chancellor, Dr James Leatt. Leatt had confirmed at the hearing that what Nemadzivhanani did and was charged and dismissed for was done on his authority and instruction as the Univen CEO. The dismissal was found to be substantively unfair.

Nemadzivhanani said he was relieved that the CCMA had vindicated him. "I have always maintained my innocence, but I allowed all the legal processes to unfold. I feel very relieved now. The CCMA confirmed what the general public always knew. No serious person really believed the trumped-up charges. My family always knew that this was the inevitable outcome. The whole experience was instructive to the extent that it opened a window into the nature of the character of humanity in the quest for survival. It was really bad. I am emotionally exhausted but more strengthened in my resolve,” he said.

Univen spokesperson Mr Takalani Dzaga has indicated that the matter is not over as the university is going to appeal.

News - Date: 06 December 2013

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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