A former South African diplomat dismissed over an undeclared company linked to his autobiography has won a Labour Appeal Court victory against the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA).
Botsang Moiloa was dismissed in November 2022. The CCMA subsequently ordered his reinstatement and R961 702 in backpay.
The agency challenged that award in the Labour Court while separately seeking to invalidate employment contracts signed about 12 years earlier.
The Labour Court declared the contracts invalid without deciding the challenge to the CCMA award.
On October 16, the Labour Appeal Court overturned that decision and ordered another Labour Court judge to consider the outstanding review.
Acting Judge Gcinumzi Moshoana described the agency’s application as “a strange application, launched hot on the heels of an unfavourable arbitration award”.
He found that the Labour Court was wrong to invalidate contracts that were terminated when the agency dismissed Moiloa.
“Where the arbitration award is not reviewed and set aside, it remains valid in law and has legal consequences,” Moshoana ruled.
He also found that merely challenging the CCMA award did not automatically suspend it.
However, C-BRTA chief executive Lwazi Mboyi disputed Sunday World’s interpretation of the judgment.
“The court dealt only with jurisdictional issues and the fact that the Labour Court made no order on the review of the arbitration award,” Mboyi said.
He stressed that the appeal court had not ordered reinstatement or backpay and that the outstanding review must return to the Labour Court.
Moiloa’s disciplinary hearing involved seven charges, including allegations concerning his qualifications, company directorships and income from his autobiography, Life With a Question Mark.
Disciplinary chairperson Tando Ngeno cleared him of six charges, including the alleged failure to declare book-launch income in 2017.
However, Ngeno upheld a charge concerning undeclared company directorships during 2019 and 2020.
CCMA records show that Boinelo Management Solutions published the revised edition of Moiloa’s autobiography in 2019.
Moiloa maintained that the company was dormant, undergoing deregistration and had previously been declared.
CCMA commissioner James Ngoako Matshekga found his non-disclosure negligent but ruled that dismissal was too harsh.
“If anything, the applicant was ambushed. His pleas for a reasonable time to prepare the response fell on deaf ears,” Matshekga wrote about the disciplinary proceedings.
Moiloa’s qualifications also featured in the dispute.
Unisa withdrew his 2004 BCom in Law in 2013 following examination irregularity allegations, which he disputed.
Ngeno found that Moiloa’s degree was valid when he joined the agency in 2010 and that his other qualifications met the job requirements.
Before joining C-BRTA, Moiloa served as deputy consul in Germany under Nelson Mandela and established South Africa’s first diplomatic office in Rwanda under Thabo Mbeki.
The widowed father of five said the dismissal devastated his finances, costing him investment apartments in Midrand and leaving his Centurion home facing possible auction.
“My mother, who is a pensioner, was forced to return to work in order to help support my children,” he said.
Mboyi also objected to questions concerning alleged political interference and manipulated employment records, describing their tone as defamatory.
Those allegations are not part of this report.
- Botsang Moiloa was dismissed by the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA) in November 2022 and subsequently won a reinstatement order and R961,702 in backpay from the CCMA.
- The Labour Appeal Court overturned a Labour Court ruling that invalidated Moiloa's employment contracts and ordered a review of the outstanding challenge to the arbitration award.
- Acting Judge Gcinumzi Moshoana ruled that challenging the CCMA award did not suspend it and that dismissal contracts terminated at the time remain valid.
- Moiloa was cleared of six disciplinary charges except one regarding undeclared company directorships linked to his autobiography's publisher, Boinelo Management Solutions.
- Moiloa's qualifications were disputed after Unisa withdrew his 2004 BCom in Law, but the disciplinary chairperson found he met job requirements when joining C-BRTA in 2010.
