Court sets aside Citizen editor Steven Motale’s dismissal

The Johannesburg Labour Court on Friday set aside the dismissal of The Citizen’s editor, Steven Motale who was fired from the newspaper in December.

Although the court’s decision means Motale has to be reinstated, it does not call for his suspension to be lifted and he now has to face disciplinary charges in terms of the publication’s disciplinary policy.

Motale was initially suspended in November for failure to follow agreed-upon editorial procedures and to uphold his editorial duties.

This led to an irretrievable breakdown in the relationship of trust and confidence between the editor and the publisher of the newspaper.

His dismissal followed the outcome of a disciplinary process, which found that his ongoing employment at The Citizen had become untenable as a result of the trust breakdown.

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Motale subsequently approached the labour court, claiming that his employment was terminated without a disciplinary hearing.

In reply, the newspaper argued that he had been invited to a hearing, but failed to avail himself on three occasions.

Following his reinstatement on Friday, Motale told ANN7 the decision was “not unexpected”, saying he always maintained he was innocent of the charges levelled against him and that he felt “vindicated”.

He also said he had been advised by his lawyers to report for duty on Monday.

In reaction, The Citizen’s lawyers issued a statement maintaining that Motale would not be able to return to work at this stage.

“Whilst the court has found that Mr Motale is contractually entitled to a formal disciplinary hearing and has accordingly reinstated him, it has not ordered that his suspension be uplifted.

“The net result is that the editor will now face disciplinary charges in terms of The Citizen’s disciplinary code. The editor will remain suspended, pending the outcome of the misconduct case against him.”

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