ANC activist and national Department of Transport senior manager Esethu Hasane has obtained an interim protection order against his superiors, the department’s spokesperson Collen Msibi and chief director at HR Philisiwe Gcina.
The order, which we have seen, was granted by the Tshwane Central Magistrate’s Court this week pending the response by the respondents on July 1.
The protracted dispute between Hasane, Msibi and Gcina has culminated in numerous developments within the department that have proven fruitless over nine months.
Public protector
Last week, Sunday World reported that Hasane had approached the office of the Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka to investigate Msibi and Gcina.
Our sources at the Tshwane Central Magistrate’s Court have shown us the contents of Hasane’s latest move against Msibi and Gcina, whom he claims have been harassing him since last year.
Hasane dropped a bombshell, telling the court that his problems started the day he rejected a certain service provider for being expensive by refusing to sign.
He had also refused to sign because he was conflicted, having worked with the same supplier in his other life outside the department.
Dispute over supplier
“My direct manager was never happy about this. To the point of even telling the supplier that I reject working with them. The service provider called me upset and confronted me,” Hasane explained the genesis of the alleged harassment.
“In September 2024, Mr Msibi, my direct supervisor, wrote an email with a letter calling for my dismissal from the department. The chief director of HR, Ms Gcina, used the anonymous letter to threaten dismissal and action against me.”
After these events, Hasane was diagnosed with depression and hospitalised.
Following unsuccessful attempts to elevate the matter within, including to the office of the Director-General, all of which attempts drew a blank, he approached the public protector last week.
He told the court that his superiors continued to intimidate him following his move to the Chapter Nine institution.
Interdicted from ‘harassment’
He was also concerned and feeling harassed that Msibi and Gcina were moving mountains using HR processes “seeking my dismissal based on nefarious grounds”.
Hasane pleaded with the court to ensure that “Msibi and Gcina [are] prevented from contacting or threatening me with action when I refuse their instructions I believe are unlawful”.
Last week, Hasane’s family issued a public statement stating that he was fearing for his life and that he no longer felt safe working with Msibi and Gcina.
“The family of Mr Esethu Hasane, a senior manager at the Department of Transport, wishes to express deep concern regarding his health and safety, following a nine-month-long period of workplace harassment which led to his hospitalisation earlier this year,” announced Hasane’s family in the statement last week.
