The stage has finally been set for the much-awaited legal showdown between legendary actor Sello Maake kaNcube and the Market Theatre Foundation (MTF) in Labour Court.
Sunday World can exclusively reveal that after a swathe of legal correspondence between MTF and KaNcube’s legal team, Makayla Pillay Attorneys, the Labour Court has enrolled the case for April 29.
In a notice of set-down sent to Makayla Pillay Attorneys and MTF’s lawyers on January 15, the registrar asked the parties to finalise the hearing within the period envisaged.
“A party who has initiated proceedings and wants to withdraw the matter must deliver a notice of withdrawal as soon as possible.
“If the parties reach a settlement, the party who initiated the proceedings must notify the registrar of the settlement as soon as possible,” reads the notice that we have seen.
The registrar further advised that once a matter has been set down for hearing, it may only be removed from the roll or postponed with the consent of the judge president or deputy judge president, or the judge seized with the matter.
“Any party who requires a witness to attend any proceedings to give evidence may have a subpoena issued by the registrar for that purpose; failure to be in court when the roll call is conducted may lead to your matter being struck off the roll,” reads the notice of a set down.
KaNcube’s lawyers want the MTF to compensate him for 24 months of unfair dismissal in accordance with the labour laws of South Africa.
They claim that the thespian was overlooked for the MTF’s position of artistic director because of his age.
In their representations, which we have seen, the lawyers stated that the multi-award-winning actor successfully applied and complied with the provisions of the position to be appointed to the job.
“Instead of appointing the applicant, another much younger person was appointed in the position of artistic director with much less experience.
“The candidate who was appointed in the position of artistic director already had a pre-established relationship with the Market Theatre Foundation, in which he was already doing work for the theatre.
“The applicant was informed of this decision via a letter dated November 22, 2022, that he was unsuccessful,” read the representations.
They said KaNcube alleged that the reason for the MTF to overlook the job was based on his age.
They said the theatre doyen, who was 63 years old when he applied for the job a few years ago, was still in good health and able to fulfil the functions for a period beyond the statutory limitations and that his age was the only factor disqualifying him from being appointed in the position.
“If one looks at the resume of the applicant objectively, he is the best suitable candidate for the position of artistic director; he meets all of the requirements of the position,” read the papers.
Apart from his acting experience, they argued, KaNcube has been successfully running his own foundation from 2013 to date.
Through his leadership, the foundation has gotten funding from the Department of Arts and Culture that funds his art and creative industry incubation.
“He is therefore required to submit annual reports for the work done and money spent. Under his leadership, the foundation has been given an annual contract from the Department of Arts and Culture.
“He is actively responsible for the overall management of the foundation as both the chairman and chief executive officer. This speaks to his strategic and financial management,” read the papers.
“The applicant seeks 24 months’ compensation for an automatically unfair dismissal,” read the papers.
Zingisa Jemsana, the MTF’s chief operating officer, wrote a letter to KaNcube explaining why he was not appointed for the job.
He said that although KaNcube illustrated knowledge of the MTF, its history, and mandate, the panel felt that he spoke more in the capacity of an actor or director and that he did not successfully express a succinct strategic approach to how he would take the MTF into the future in response to the ever-changing operating context.
“Although the candidate showed an understanding of the arts, the position is not limited to directing, acting, or managing creatives.
“The successful candidate will further be responsible for the strategic vision of the four artistic units while also overseeing two departments and, as such, requires stronger strategic, financial, people management, and administrative skills,” he stated.
