... accountant drops bombshell in court

MBABANE – Bunye Betfu Buhle Betfu’s accountant Siphiwe Simelane stunned the court yesterday when she revealed that one of the court’s assessors had visited the company’s premises and met with the manager and the employees’ advisor ahead of the case.

This was shortly before the court was due to adjourn following Court President; Chief Mgebiseni Dlamini’s delivery of judgment. The floor had already been ordered to stand to allow the president and his team to leave the courtroom when Simelane asked to be given a moment.

She informed the bench that a men in a yellow tie (not in court), who presided over the case in the first instance when it was postponed, had gone to the company’s premises to meet with the manager, Mphumelelo Ginindza and the employees’ advisor, Bhekiwe Mkhabela, who also served as the loans officer at the company.

“I don’t know if this is allowed or not, but I am not happy with the outcome of today’s proceedings because I feel that what I saw may have influenced the case,” she said.

The Court Clerk, Velaphi Dlamini, thanked Simelane for bringing up this to the attention of the court. He told her that this was unfortunate, stating that by law, this was not allowed to happen. Incidentally, he said the person being talked about had the case taken away from him by sheer coincidence. “I can assure you that his meeting with the superiors at your office had not influenced the outcome of your case in any way. The court, however, appreciates that you have brought this to its attention. It was not supposed to happen,” he said.

In an interview outside court, Simelane said she was displeased with the outcome of both her cases. “I strongly believe that the visit by the gentleman from the court played a part in the decisions taken by the court,” she alleged.

Simelane further mentioned the individual by surname, but due lack of facts to substantiate his presence at Bunye Betfu Buhle Betfu’s offices, his name will not be published.

MBABANE – Some employees of Bunye Betfu Buhle Betfu Credit and Savings Co-operative Society, who had come to court for Siphiwe Simelane’s case want her out. The employees spoke on condition of anonymity. Interviewed after the case, one of them said management could have easily solved the matter internally before it escalated into the courtroom. “They could have easily transferred her to another office as the company has other offices or simply admonish her to stop treating staff badly or else she would be fired. I do not understand why it took them so long to deal with the matter, because, from an administrative point of view, it looks straight forward,” he said.

MBABANE – The Board of Directors of Buhle Betfu Credit and Savings Co-operative Society has outlined that it would not pay attention to the criminal aspect of the cases lodged by their employees against each other. Addressing the court on the subject yesterday, Board Chaiperson Nomphumelelo Nkambule said they had engaged a consultant to try and build team spirit among the employees. She also revealed that they tasked the Supervisory Board to investigate and come up with a report for the Board’s consideration in reaching a decision about the toxic work environment at the company.