- An educator at Steve Special School for the Deaf was accused of grabbing and kissing learners and having sexual intercourse with one complainant.
- The Education Department withdrew its disciplinary case, and prosecutors declined to continue with the criminal matter, but SACE later removed him from the educators register.
- The High Court in Bhisho has suspended that decision until a full review of the SACE process is heard.
Allegations that an Eastern Cape teacher grabbed and kissed learners at a special school for deaf children, and had sexual intercourse with one of the complainants, have led to a legal battle that could determine whether he remains in the teaching profession.
Mkhuseli Alpha Faku, an educator at Steve Special School for the Deaf, was accused of sexual misconduct involving learners during 2021. Because he worked with children with special needs, the allegations were treated as serious by the Eastern Cape Department of Education.
The department instituted disciplinary proceedings after receiving reports of the alleged misconduct. According to the High Court judgment, the charges were later withdrawn because there was insufficient evidence to proceed, and the sanction imposed on Faku was lifted. Prosecutors also declined to continue with the criminal case arising from the same allegations.
SACE, however, conducted its own investigation and disciplinary process. On 30 July 2025, it imposed a sanction that removed Faku from the register of educators and directed that his name be placed on a list of people declared unfit to work with children. Since registration with SACE is a legal requirement for teachers in South Africa, the decision threatened to end his teaching career.
Faku approached the High Court in Bhisho on an urgent basis to stop the implementation of the SACE decision while he challenges it in review proceedings.
The case, Faku v South African Council for Educators and Others, was heard before Acting Judge M Mhambi. The respondents were the South African Council for Educators, the Eastern Cape MEC for Education, and the Head of Department for Education in the Eastern Cape.
Challenge to the SACE process
Faku denied wrongdoing and argued that the SACE charges were vague and lacked sufficient detail. He told the court that the guilty finding was based on allegations that had not been properly substantiated.
The judgment records his complaint that “the charges by SACE are vague and ambiguous” and that the finding relied on allegations of grabbing and kissing that, in his view, were not adequately supported by evidence.
He also argued that he did not receive the sanction timeously. According to the judgment, he received it on 11 February 2026, after the five-day period for appealing had already expired. His application for condonation was refused, and SACE confirmed the sanction. Faku contended that the procedure followed by SACE was unfair and reviewable.
Department said the law left no choice
The Eastern Cape Department of Education opposed the interim relief. It argued that once an educator is deregistered by SACE, the law automatically deems that educator to have resigned.
The department told the court that it could not lawfully continue employing a teacher whose name had been removed from the SACE register. According to the judgment, it maintained that it had “no alternative but to effect the deeming provision, and inform the applicant of the consequences thereof.” SACE itself did not oppose the interim interdict.
Judge found review has prospects
Judge Mhambi accepted that courts must be cautious when asked to restrain the exercise of statutory power. However, he said the court was entitled to consider the grounds of the pending review and assess whether it had prospects of success.
After examining the review papers, he concluded that Faku had established a prima facie right deserving protection. “In my assessment, there are prospects of success in the review of the applicant,” the judge said.
The court found that immediate implementation of the SACE decision would have serious consequences. Judge Mhambi wrote that “the loss of employment by the applicant, and his listing as someone unfit to work with children, will have drastic effects on him.”
He said the decision would affect Faku’s ability to earn an income, support his family and protect his professional reputation. The judge also accepted that some of the harm caused by immediate implementation might not be fully reversible if the review later succeeded.
In weighing the competing interests, the court found that the balance of convenience favoured preserving the status quo. Judge Mhambi said any financial prejudice to the department could potentially be addressed later, whereas the immediate termination of Faku’s employment would have far-reaching consequences.
The judgment makes it cleear that “as soon as the Department implements the impugned decision, the genie will have been let out of the bottle for the applicant.”
High Court order
The High Court ordered that, pending the determination of Faku’s review application, the Eastern Cape MEC for Education and the Head of Department are interdicted and restrained from implementing the SACE decision contained in a letter dated 25 November 2025.
The question of legal costs was postponed for determination by the court that will hear the review. The ruling does not clear Faku of the allegations. It means only that the High Court was not prepared to allow the SACE decision to take effect before the legality and fairness of that decision are fully tested in court.
The review proceedings will now determine whether SACE acted lawfully in removing the educator from the register and effectively ending his teaching career.
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