Former lecturer fails in court bid

A FORMER Ikhala Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) lecturer who in 2015 tried to dodge a disciplinary hearing by resigning with immediate effect has failed in his high court bid to have his subsequent dismissal and negative employment record expunged.

Lazola Nogoduka took the Queenstown-based Ikhala TVET institute and higher education department to court to set aside the disciplinary hearing in July 2015 at which he was dismissed for alleged misconduct and dishonesty.

Nogoduka had been employed at the institute since 2009. However, he says in court papers that his employment situation had become intolerable due to what he termed “selfserving political agendas” pursued by the institute’s senior management.

In February 2015 he had been served with a notice that the institute was contemplating suspending him. It duly placed him on precautionary suspension in March and served him with a charge sheet in April.

The disciplinary hearing had to be postponed from April to June as Nogoduka had submitted a sick leave note.

Just three days before the June hearing, Nogoduka resigned with immediate effect.

Nogoduka denied he resigned to avoid the disciplinary proceedings, saying the charges were fabricated and persuaded him to resign from his “toxic work environment”.

The hearing had proceeded without him and he was duly found guilty and dismissed.

Noguduka said in his court papers that the presiding officer had committed a gross irregularity by proceeding with the hearing as he was, at the time, no longer an employee.

But Judge Jeremy Pickering said that his employment contract read with the Public Service Act required a notice period of a month.

The act in particular specified that if notice of a disciplinary hearing had been given, the employer could not agree to a shorter period of notice.

He dismissed Nogoduka’s application with costs.