Pretoria - Two metro police trainees who were kicked out of training because they refused to cut their hair want the City of Tshwane and its municipal manager to be held in contempt of court for refusing to reinstate them on the programme.
Suzanne Terry and Elizna von Mollendorff, supported by the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu), are demanding that the city take them back within seven days of a court order, failing which the city manager should be jailed or fined, or both.
Pieter de Beer of Imatu stated in the latest court papers that Acting Judge Louis Vorster had already ordered in June 2014 that the pair be reinstated immediately. But the city, in opposing the application, said the horse had already bolted, as the specific training programme the two were on had been completed.
Metro police executive director Console Tleane said the judge ordered they be readmitted to the programme for which they were enrolled, not that a new training programme be created for them or that they be enrolled on another one.
Terry and Von Mollendorf made news headlines two years ago when they turned to court for an urgent order that they be allowed back into the programme they were on being trained as metro police officers.
When they reported for the training they had medium-length hair. They were instructed at the parade ground on the third day of the programme to, there and then, cut their hair as short "as that of men".
They refused and an instructor shouted at them that it was not up to them.
It was claimed that she grabbed them violently and cut their hair on the parade ground, cutting Von Mollendorff's finger with the scissors.
The pair said they never gave the instructor permission to cut their hair, especially in such a violent manner.
When the judge ordered that they be allowed to return to the programme, they went back to the training college, only to be told to leave three days later.
Again they turned to court to hold the council in contempt of court and again the court said they must be returned to the programme.
Again they were told to leave as the council said it wanted to apply for the decision to be rescinded. When its application failed, the city gave notice that it was going to appeal the order. That also failed.
Meanwhile, the two women were at home as they were denied access to the college.
De Beer said the city had exhausted all its legal avenues and it was now left with the original order - to reinstate the pair into the training programme.
But Tleane said the city was within its right not to allow the pair back as the rescission and appeal applications suspended the order for them to return.
Although the city had lost these applications, its hands were tied and it could not readmit them as their specific training course had long since lapsed, he said.
But this is not the end of the matter as the duo must by September 2 answer to these responses before the matter is again enrolled at a later date.
Pretoria News