- The High Court ruled that a Free State department acted unlawfully by suspending and dismissing a senior official through an acting Head of Department who lacked legal authority.
- Judges found the acting appointment failed to comply with statutory requirements and exceeded the maximum six-month acting period allowed by law.
- The disciplinary process has been set aside and must begin again before a lawfully empowered disciplinary body.
The High Court in Bloemfontein has declared the suspension, disciplinary hearing and dismissal of a senior Free State government official unlawful after finding that the acting Head of Department who initiated the process lacked the legal authority to do so.
The judgment arose from a review application brought by Norman Ntsala Selai, the former Chief Director of Corporate Services in the Free State Department of Community Safety, Roads and Transport. Selai challenged the lawfulness of the disciplinary process rather than the fairness of his dismissal.
Premier’s acting appointment failed legal test
Selai was transferred to the Department of Social Development with effect from 12 April 2023. On the same day, the acting Head of Department of his former department placed him on precautionary suspension. She later appointed an initiator and chairperson, convened a disciplinary enquiry and ultimately dismissed him in April 2024.
The provincial government argued that the matter belonged in the Labour Court and that Selai should have pursued an internal appeal. The court rejected both arguments, holding that the dispute concerned the lawful exercise of public power and therefore fell within the High Court’s jurisdiction.
The judges found that the Premier’s appointment of the acting Head of Department did not comply with the mandatory requirements of the Senior Management Service Handbook and the Public Service Act. The appointment also exceeded the six-month statutory limit for acting Heads of Department, meaning the official no longer had the authority to exercise the powers of the office.
Department pursued disciplinary case after Selai’s transfer
The court found that every disciplinary decision taken after the acting appointment had lapsed, including Selai’s suspension and the institution of disciplinary proceedings, was ultra vires and invalid.
It also identified a separate legal defect. Once Selai had been transferred to the Department of Social Development, the Public Service Act required the Head of Department of his new department to institute or continue any disciplinary proceedings. Instead, his former department continued the process without the statutory authority to do so.
Court sets aside dismissal and orders fresh hearing
The High Court reviewed and set aside the decisions to suspend Selai, appoint disciplinary officials, convene the disciplinary enquiry and dismiss him.
It ordered that the matter be remitted to a lawfully constituted disciplinary body for a fresh hearing. Pending the outcome of that process, the Department of Community Safety, Roads and Transport must comply with Selai’s contract of employment and conditions of service.
The Premier, the department, the MEC and the Head of Department were also ordered to pay the costs of the application jointly and severally, including counsel’s fees on Scale B.
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