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CCMA-NPA
JOHANNESBURG Nov 11 Sapa
NWEST PROSECUTOR CLEARED OF RACISM
A Klerksdorp prosecutor who was dismissed after being accused of racism has been cleared by the CCMA and must be reinstated by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Solidarity said on Tuesday.
Deputy general secretary Johan Kruger said the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA) ruled that former chief public prosecutor at the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court Jacques Swanepoel had been unfairly dismissed.
This was after senior public prosecutor Revana Jacobs laid charges, including racism, against Swanepoel, who was her manager at the time.
In 2007 an internal probe was held into allegations of racism at the court and, based on the findings, Swanepoel was dismissed in 2011.
Kruger said the CCMA found that the report on the racism probe did not contain any recommendations on possible disciplinary action against Swanepoel and could not be used as the basis for his dismissal.
He said that Jacobs had a “hidden agenda” as she was unhappy that she had been transferred to Klerksdorp from Pietermaritzburg and “she wanted to be retransferred at any cost”.
“Jacobs claimed Swanepoel’s so-called racist conduct was the reason why she was unhappy at the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court. Later it became clear, however, that Jacobs’s allegations were devoid of substance,” said Kruger.
The CCMA arbitrator ordered that Swanepoel be paid 46 months' salary and that he be reappointed in his old position.
“The case received wide media coverage and our member’s career and reputation were harmed in the process,” Kruger said.
“His good reputation has now been restored.”
Sapa