Source: The Herald – Breaking news.
Fidelis Munyoro, Chief Court Reporter
A Former National Pharmaceutical company (NatPharm) procurement manager has been awarded almost US$1 million by the High Court for unfair dismissal.
This ruling comes after Mr Raguel Mthombeni’s contract was terminated on July 14, 2020, and he took the matter to court, before enduring a lengthy conciliation and court process.
Unfair dismissal refers to the termination of an employee’s contract without a valid reason, or in a manner that is considered unfair or unjust, which can include dismissal based on discrimination, retaliation, or without following proper procedures.
In this case, the court ruled in favour of Mr Mthombeni, ordering NatPharm to pay him compensation. This decision highlights the importance of following procedures and respecting employees’ rights during termination of employment processes.
Mr Mthombeni had sought the High Court’s intervention for registration of a labour officer’s ruling, but NatPharm opposed the motion. His legal team filed their heads of argument on July 8, this year and NatPharm’s lawyers received them on July 9.
However, NatPharm’s lawyers missed the deadline to respond, which was July 23. NatPharm then sought condonation for late filing and removal of the bar, but Mr Mthombeni opposed this, accusing NatPharm’s lawyers of trying to fraudulently misrepresent facts.
Interestingly, NatPharm’s lawyer blamed the delay on an “infraction” caused by himself, but Mr Mthombeni moved the court to dismiss the application, arguing that NatPharm should have filed its affidavit before the court sat.
In his ruling, Justice Regis Dembure was not pleased with NatPharm’s lawyers, stating that they took the application for condonation lightly and did not provide any reasonable grounds for opposition.
This led the judge to grant the application and ordered NatPharm to pay Mthombeni a substantial amount of US$935,511.57, payable in local currency at the prevailing interbank rate.
Justice Dembure, in his judgment, emphasied that NatPharm’s actions constituted an abuse of the court process, warranting punitive costs.
He stressed that there must be consequences for litigants who attempt to exploit the legal system to avoid inevitable outcomes. He even went as far as saying that NatPharm was trying to “play football with the court”.
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