Ramodibedi's clerk demoted'

Her remuneration will not be affected but she is believed to view this as a demotion, especially because of the duties involved in both positions.

Vilakati was cited in one of the charges against fired Judge Thomas Masuku.

The judge was charged for allegedly sanctioning a trip Vilakati undertook to Malaysia without the authority of Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi.

Vilakati was appointed to her new post, which she is not too happy about, by the Judicial Service Commission but when demoting her, Hlophe acted ‘alone’.

She wrote the letter in her capacity as Registrar of the Supreme Court.

On receiving the letter, Vilakati is reported to have suffered severe depression which required hospital attention.

Vilakati was transferred through a letter written by Hlophe on December 14, 2011.

Her redeployment effectively means she will no longer be working closely with Ramodibedi. She worked in his office as Clerk.

Vilakati has been redeployed to work as an Interpreter/Clerk for Judge Qinisile Mabuza.

Among her old duties, she managed the CJ’s court schedule and offered advice to accused persons pertaining to their rights when appearing in court cases presided over by the CJ.

In the new post she replaces Mapsie Zasha Gule who retired on August 16, 2011.

Gule retired after 28 years of service, having joined the Swaziland Government on June 8, 1983.

"With effect from January 1, 2012 you will be assigned to Justice Qinisile Mabuza as her Clerk/Interpreter. You are required to report to Judge Mabuza with immediate effect," reads part of the letter.

In an interview with the Times SUNDAY Lorraine Hlophe said Vilakati was redeployed because she was idle and not doing any meaningful work at the High Court.

Hlophe said she took the decision to redeploy Vilakati to the office of Judge Mabuza because there was a vacancy at Mabuza’s office following the retirement of Mapsie Gule.

"Government issued a Circular to the effect that the hiring of new civil servants was frozen. So, when Judge Mabuza’s Clerk retired, we had to find a replacement and she (Vilakati) was our only option," she said. Vilakati was promoted to the post of Assistant Registrar II by the Judicial Service Commission on September 1, 2010.

The letter of promotion was written by Hlophe in her capacity as secretary to the Judicial Service Commission. "We take this opportunity to congratulate you on your appointment and are hopeful that this will be a worthwhile experience in your career development," reads a letter from Hlophe.

The Registrar said Vilakati’s salary, on government scale B6, would not be affected.

When called for comment on Saturday, Vilakati said she was not in position to speak on the matter.

"It is a fact that I have been removed from the office of the CJ but I will only talk when the time comes," she said.

Meanwhile, Zweli Jele, Chairperson of the Law Society’s Judicial Crisis Committee said the redeployment of Vilakati was a clear case of victimisation.

Jele said Vilakati’s case was not isolated in that there were many people who had been removed from the High Court following the recent judicial impasse.

He said there seemingly was a mission to remove all the people who were alleged to have worked with either the Law Society or fired Judge Thomas Masuku from the High Court.

Jele said perhaps it was too early for the lawyers to abandon their boycott of the courts because the problems that took them to the streets had not been solved.

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