Pretoria - The Public Servants Association (PSA) has called on the Department of Labour to suspend the officials accused of assaulting a junior staffer in the boardroom of the provincial office last month.
Chief director of provincial operations Johanna Machaba, together with deputy director Kholofelo Ngoepe, have been accused of theft and assault by a junior employee of the department, whose name is known to Pretoria News.
The two have since been arrested and appeared in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
The complainant preferred to stay anonymous for fear of victimisation.
In a grievance letter seen by Pretoria News, the complainant said: “On 3 June I had a meeting with the chief director (Machaba) and the deputy director (Ngoepe) in the boardroom.
“One of the deliberations was my annual leave issue that I had escalated to the chief director following my disagreement with my manager (Ngoepe) who had declined my request for leave on the basis that I was not entitled because of rotational shifts caused by the Covid-19 adjustments.
“Upon adjournment of the meeting. I realised my phone was missing. I went back to the boardroom where I found the two (Machaba and Ngoepe) still talking. When I asked them if they had seen my phone they said they hadn’t.”
She said despite going back to the boardroom three times, the two managers were adamant that they had not seen the phone but was later summoned to the same boardroom for a second meeting.
“When I got into the boardroom a noticed my phone that looked like mine on the chief directors (sic) table and as I reached for it Ngoepe manhandled and pushed me back uttering the words ‘don’t touch that phone.”
She said she was accused of having recorded the previous meeting on her phone.
“They got into my phone downloading all my personal, private and confidential information without my consent.”
Representing the alleged victim, the PSA has called on the department’s director-general Thobile Lamati to immediately put the officials on precautionary suspension and investigate the matter.
Union’s provincial chairperson John Teffo said: “We call for immediate suspension of the chief director and all those that were involved in the criminal activities, and that the affected employee get the protection from the department against any form of intimidation and/or harassment.”
In a letter to Lamati, the union said it was shocked to learn of the incident.
It read: “We have noted with great concern that the chief director and her three deputy directors assaulted an employee of the department and stole her personal cellphone after a failed meeting on a complaint about refusal of leave application.
“The chief and Ngoepe were arrested on July 9 and appeared in court July 12 on charges of assault and theft. Their case was postponed to August 20 for further investigation with possibility of further arrests of others involved.”
National Department of Labour spokesperson Musa Zondi said: “The matter was reported and we are investigating.”
Pretoria News