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The Labour Court has passed a ruling that will serve as a lesson to rogue councillors to refrain from subjecting municipal officials to emotional, politically inspired decisions and personal vendettas.
The court ordered that, instead of using taxpayers’ money, litigant councillors should pay the cost of the application out of their own pocket if they lost the case.
This was after Ditsobotla municipal manager Olaotse Bojosinyane, who was fired within six months of his employment, was reinstated immediately by the court, which declared his dismissal unlawful.
The ruling meant the mayor, Mazwi Moruri, and acting municipal manager Rasupang Mooketsi and all councillors in the municipality would pay the cost of the application unless they convinced the court why they should not do so.
Judge Molatelo Makhura also ordered that the municipality, Moruri and Mooketsi should not prevent the municipal manager from reporting for duty, but facilitate his unhindered return.
But when Bojosinyane reported for duty on Monday, he was barred from entering his office.
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ActionSA said Mooketsi reportedly refused to hand over keys to his boss on both Monday and Tuesday in an apparent defiance of the court order.
“The situation escalated into an altercation, with security guards attempting to block his entry.
Yesterday, the municipal manager again struggled to access the premises and was denied access to his office,” the party said.
In the ruling, the court said it was not unfair dismissal as provided in the Labour Relations Act, but the municipality had acted unlawfully to terminate his three-year contract.
The ruling was welcomed by ActionSA North West provincial legislature member Kwena Mangope, who is also a member of the portfolio committee on cooperative governance and traditional affairs.
“The court order validates our long-held position that Mr Bojosinyane’s dismissal was unlawful and politically motivated. The ruling represented a victory for good governance and the rule of law in our municipalities,” Mangope said.
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Bojosinyane was fired during a special council meeting on 30 January, where it also withdrew the suspension it had imposed on him on 17 January.
The municipality first placed Bojosinyane on special leave in October 2024, claiming his appointment was unlawful.
He challenged the decision in court on an urgent basis and the municipality did not oppose the action. On the eve of the court hearing for Bojosinyane’s application to have his suspension overturned, a special council sitting was quickly organised and a resolution was taken to withdraw the suspension and fire him.
The official further challenged his dismissal, which the court declared as unlawful.
Makhura described the council’s move to pre-empt the pending court decision by lifting Bojosinyane’s suspension and fire him with immediate effect as “legally skilful and contrived move”.
“This was the council’s show of power to the applicant. It acted rogue, in bad faith and abused its power,” Makhura said.
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The judge said the contract between Bojosinyane and the municipality remained in force and he remained the manager.
He ordered that both Moruri and acting municipal manager Mooketsi each file an affidavit within five days to show cause why they should not be ordered to pay the cost of the application in their personal capacities.
A similar order was issued against all councillors who attended the meeting where the decision to fire Bojosinyane was taken.
“Taxpayers’ monies should not be funding what appears to be personal and emotional battles and self-created litigation,” Makhura said.
Reacting to the ruling Mangope said: “The era of corruption, cadre deployment and mismanagement of municipalities must come to an end, we demand accountability and proper governance in our municipality.”
He called on Moruri to comply with the court order and allow Bojosinyane to return to his rightful position. Any attempt to frustrate or delay his reinstatement would constitute contempt of court.
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