The Vice Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg Prof Tshilidzi Marwala sprinted to the South Gauteng High Court to block his former colleague in academia from writing to his soon-to-become employers, the United Nations University where he is appointed Rector, with claims that he discriminated against her and that he was allegedly xenophobic. Zimoja can reveal that Marwala filed an urgent interdict on 3 August 2022 against his former colleague and Statistics lecturer Lyness Matizirofa, a Zimbabwean citizen who was recently fired by theUniversity for poor performance and misconduct , stating that she and her lawyers had threatened to write to the United Nations University to get them to reconsider his appointment as the Rector of the international institution of higher learning. 

FRAUDULENT REPORT?

In his papers seen by Zimoja, Prof Marwala said Matizirofa had accused him of abetting fraud and also accused him of firing her using a questionable and fraudulent report by an independent chairperson. Marwala, in his papers, said the allegations levelled against him were defamatory and sought to impugn his good name and reputation, which he has worked so hard to attain in his many years as an academic and a professional. "The purpose of this application is to obtain an order interdicting and restraining the respondents from disclosing, distributing and or publishing or causing to be published and or in any manner disseminating any defamatory matter of and or concerning the first and second applicants, " part of the papers read. 

ACCUSATIONS OF XENOPHOBIC AND DISCRIMINATION

The Vice Chancellor further emphasised that the interdict was urgent, arguing that the lecturer with a disability and her lawyers have already spread the allegations to third parties including the Director of the CCMA and were also threatening to write the same to his soon-to-be new employers, UNU, stating that he was clearly xenophobic and goes against women living with a disability. 

PLANS TO APPEAL JUDGMENT

Matizirofa's lawyer ,MacGregor Kufa SC, who is also listed as a respondent in the matter confirmed that the matter was heard by the South Gauteng High Court weeks ago. He said the judge ruled in favour of Marwala's application but said they intend to appeal the judgment.Further documents attached to the court papers show that a case of fraud was also opened against Marwala and the university on the basis that the independent chairperson Ms Kheditse Matsege, apart-time CCMA commissioner who presided over the disciplinary hearing of Matizirofa ,had irregularly used the CCMA template to deliver her award which recommended her dismissal from the university, a recommendation which was accepted and endorsed by Marwala. The same documents show that Matizirofa and her lawyers later filed a complaint with the CCMA against Matsege accusing her of fraudulent conduct. 

GUILTY OF NEGLIGENCE

The CCMA, the papers show, instituted an investigation against Matsege which found that the part time commissioner had indeed had negligently used its template while delivering an award on an outside matter which had nothing to do with the labour body. The investigator found Matsege guilty of negligence and she was suspended from work for nine months. These details were also confirmed by Marwala in his affidavit, but he said Matsege's usage of CCMA template on an award of a university matter, had no bearing and or could not change the outcome of the hearing.This, he said was because Matsege, had upon realising her mistake, withdrew the first award with the  CCMA template and replaced it with the correct document, though at the time, the award was already served to Matizirofa. Marwala prayed for the court to slap his former colleagues and her lawyers with punitive costs.