Fired principal loses job bid

A KwaZulu-Natal principal who was fired for allegedly abusing his power and coercing a desperate unemployed teacher into sleeping with him with the promise of a job has failed in his bid to get his job back.

Nkanyiso Cebekhulu, who used to be a principal at Congo Secondary School, had challenged his dismissal as substantively unfair and asserted that he was engaged in a romantic relationship with the teacher when he had sex with her.

He said he had never been accused of seeking sexual favours before and that the teacher accused him of rape after realising that her relationship with him did not lead to securing permanent employment.

He then took the matter to the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) to argue his case with the hope that the KwaZulu-Natal department of education would reinstate him should he win.

However, the ELRC arbitrator Lindiwe Makhanya ruled that Cebekhulu's dismissal was both procedurally and substantively fair because he had acted improperly by having sexual intercourse with the teacher.

“The teacher demonstrates that she did not consent to the sexual acts and felt coerced due to Cebekhulu's abuse of power.

“Cebekhulu's actions, leveraging his position to exploit the teacher's vulnerable employment status, constitute a severe abuse of authority and a violation of her rights.

“Therefore, Cebekhulu's behaviour is deemed as a serious misconduct, and the dismissal was appropriate.”