Durban - Suspended Kwazulu-Natal prison boss Mnikelwa Nxele has demanded to be reinstated after he was barred from entering his office in Pietermaritzburg.
Despite being permitted by an arbitrator to return to work last week Monday, armed guards denied Nxele entry to his workplace.
He was also issued with another suspension by the Department of Correctional Services.
Nxele’s woes began following allegations that he ignored instructions to reinstate a dismissed employee and did not follow procurement processes for a R10.6 million tender in 2012.
He was suspended early last year after an internal investigation but when his suspension expired in December, his attempt to return to work was thwarted, and he was served with another suspension letter.
Nxele claimed that he had a fallout with the department after he outed a colleague who made irregular claims for subsistence and travel, who was disciplined and later dismissed.
Nxele said fighting his suspension had drained him financially because he had exhausted his savings and his salary was not sufficient to pay his legal fees.
He said through his law firm, Garlicke & Bousfield, he had written to Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola, asking him to intervene between himself and National Correctional Services Commissioner Arthur Fraser.
“I make an earnest appeal to the minister, who holds the executive power to step in. I cannot be sitting at home drawing a salary without doing any work when the arbitration has concluded that I should go back to work,” said Nxele.
He claimed Fraser, the former State Security boss, had been influenced to take the dismissed employee back.
Nxele has also been implicated in the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture – Bosasa’s former chief operations officer, Angelo Agrizzi told the commission that Nxele received payments to the value of R57 500 a month, allegedly for his influence.
However, Nxele has denied the claims. “I have publicly denied the allegations made by Agrizzi. I have requested documents relating to enable me to extract certain statements before attaching an affidavit for the commission.”
He said the acting KZN Commissioner James Smalberger retired last October but was retained by the department in a questionable and possibly unlawful contract.
“I have been forced and bullied to stay at home,” he said.
However, National Department of Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said he could not comment about an issue between the employer and the employee.
Two officers at Westville Prison said they would support Nxele’s return to work because he was able to instil law and order.
“With him at the helm, prison warders were safe, there were no stabbings of officers by prisoners. He facilitated the outreach programmes which saw a number of prisoners meeting with their victims to ask for forgiveness but that programme has since collapsed,” said one member.
Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) spokesperson Richard Mamabolo said the union could not interfere with state disciplinary proceedings.
“Nxele used the same disciplinary code to suspend countless DCS officials. He shouldn’t cry foul when the same code is used against him.
“Currently there are many of our members who are on suspension; we can’t focus on one individual,” said Mamabolo.