Reverse verdict dashes ex-constable’s promotion hopes

An ex-constable, who was suing the Botswana Police Service (BPS) for serving 23 years without rising up the ranks will not be getting a promotion, as the Court of Appeal (CoA) concludes on the case.

Ex-constable, Balobile Kemolatlhe who had been with the service since April 22, 1992, was last year delighted when the High Court ruled that he be promoted to Sergeant at a scale of C2 top-notch effective May 2021.

High Court judge, Jusctice Mokwadi Gabanagae had declared that what the police was doing was an unfair labour practice and therefore was wrongful and unlawful.

Kemolatlhe, who was at the time still holding the same rank, had instituted legal proceedings against the police and Attorney General on July 15, 2015, demanding that he be promoted to the rank of the superintendent, with promotion made effective from 2010.

Now the promotion that was promised by the High Court verdict, despite no longer being with the service, has been reversed by CoA instantly dashing his hopes of moving up the ranks following many years of fighting for advancement.

Judge President Tebogo Tau told the aggrieved former constable that the High Court was wrong by making an order that he was entitled to a promotion as there was no material to show the existence of vacancies or availability of resources to justify his case.

She explained that the ex-constable’s argument that he met all the requirements for promotion was invalid as so many factors go into considering one for a higher rank. “There is an excess of authorities, which indicates that promotion is not an automatic right. There are a number of factors, which should be considered before making a decision to promote,” she said.

Further, the judge pointed out that based on the fact that the ex-constable was no longer in the employ of the service, the order made for him to be promoted was legally not enforceable and that it could not be sustained. Meanwhile, Kemolatlhe in his founding affidavit at the time he filed the suit, explained that after joining the police service he went for a year’s training at BPS College and successfully graduated as a constable in 1993.

His affidavit tracked all the stations he has been moved to all the way up to his station at the time in Lobatse. No movement had involved a promotion.

The suit was Kemolatlhe’s last straw against the police concerning his non-promotion as he had reportedly lodged numerous complaints with the then commissioner of Police Thebeyame Tsimako for his lack of progression since joining the service. Kemolatlhe explained that the commissioner assured him that he had heard his grievance and promised to act on it but nothing happened.

He even appealed to the Minister of Defence, Justice and Security by letter, who responded that they did not respond to grievances with regards to progression. He threw in the towel in December 2019 by voluntarily retiring from the police service while his case was still pending before the court.