The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) calls on the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Thembi Nkadimeng to move with speed and douse the fires in her department before they interfere with its critical work.
According to reports in the City Press, the Justice Ministry's Director-General, Doctor Mashabane, is at war with his Deputy Conny Mametja, forcing employees to choose a side.
Complaints, allegations and counter-allegations have been sent to the newly appointed Minister, the most concerning being the alleged sexual harassment of young female interns and cleaners by senior male officials, including Mashabane. The Director-General is said to have established a committee made up mostly of pastors to investigate the allegations. A letter sent by "concerned officials" accused Mashabane of having requested a bed in his office and security cameras on his side of the floor to be switched off.
Mashabane has rubbished the allegations, saying they amounted to defamation and character assassination, and were part of a fight-back ploy by those aggrieved by the suspension of Mametja. He added that disciplinary action taken against senior managers as per the recommendations of a report by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) was at the centre of the retaliation.
This is the second article about the Justice Department to appear in the City Press in as many weeks. Last week's article detailed how the High Court in Pretoria had dismissed with costs an urgent application brought by Mashabane to interdict whistleblower Mario Rocha from spreading unfounded defamatory statements.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Rocha was reportedly at the forefront of exposing corruption with the Masters Office. He also wrote letters about allegations of endemic corruption in the Justice Department, prompting the SUI and a forensic investigator to be brought in to probe the allegations. However, when Rocha later implicated Mashabane and other senior officials, the Department approached the court to gag him. The judge found that Mashabane and other senior officials were organs of the state and government bodies, therefore they could not sue for defamatory statements that allegedly injured their reputation.
Using public funds to intimidate a whistleblower into silence, shows a lack of judgement by Mashabane and his colleagues. More must be done to protect whistleblowers given the risks they endure to expose malfeasance in both the public and private sectors.
Given all this, COSATU calls upon Minister Nkadimeng to do whatever is necessary to ensure these side shows are resolved as soon as possible to prevent distracting from the important work of the Department. Without question the recommendations of the SIU report must be fully implemented. The allegations of sexual harassment must be investigated by a capable authority, Mashabane and other implicated officials cannot continue to report for work as the probe unfolds, more so given their leadership roles in the Department. Minister Nkadimeng's Department plays too crucial a role in the delivery of justice to allow it to be hamstrung by allegations of serious wrongdoing.
Most importantly all workers, in particular women, must be protected from any type of gender-based violence and sexual harassment at the workplace. Such matters must be dealt with swiftly.
Issued by COSATU
