Warrant for education boss held back

DURBAN: 240614 Dr S'bongiseni Sishi leaves Durban Magistrate Court. PICTURE: GCINA NDWALANE

DURBAN: 240614 Dr S'bongiseni Sishi leaves Durban Magistrate Court. PICTURE: GCINA NDWALANE

Published Jun 27, 2014

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Durban - The warrant of arrest for KwaZulu-Natal education head Dr Nkosinathi Sishi has been provisionally stayed.

This was confirmed by lawyers involved in the legal battle between him and private higher education institution, Sants.

The warrant was issued on Monday after Sishi was found to be in contempt of court for not signing a document relating to the department’s legal spat with Sants.

However, the Daily News established on Thursday from attorneys involved in the case that the warrant had been provisionally “held off” pending the finalisation of the case.

Sishi had been held in contempt owing to an error in the content of a signed letter posted on the department’s official website.

The original document that was uploaded did not comply with a court order.

KZN education spokesman Muzi Mahlambi confirmed on Thursday that Sishi had signed the corrected document on Tuesday in compliance with the court order.

“This is our official comment. We have complied with the court, and that is Dr Sishi’s position on the matter,” he said.

Attempts to contact Sishi were unsuccessful.

Earlier this year, Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Piet Koen instructed Sishi to publish and distribute a letter to the students of Sants, making it clear that they were still entitled to their bursaries if they continued to study with Sants. The order was granted on an interim basis until the matter between Sants and the department was resolved.

So far, efforts to settle it have proved futile.

According to Sants advocate Dirk van Zyl, the department had yet to pay the R36 million in student bursaries that the teacher-training institution was owed. Sants launched a high-court application seeking payment last year.

Daily News

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