ACCUSER’S STATEMENTS CLASH – ESWACAA’S SABELO

MATSAPHA – Finally, the suspended ESWACAA Director of Marketing and Communications, Sabelo Dlamini, has tendered his official plea to the SODV charge he is facing.

Dlamini stands accused of allegedly contravening Section 48 (1) (2) of the SODV Act of 15/2018 in that between August and November 2018, he allegedly sexually harassed *Titi, who is also employed by the Eswatini Civil Aviation Authority (ESWACAA).

The trial started yesterday and Dlamini pleaded not guilty to the charge and his plea was confirmed by his legal representative, Derrick Jele. The matter was before Magistrate Mthokozisi Dlamini.

Different

In fact, the accused person’s lawyer argued that Titi’s statements, which she recorded with the police and said in court, were different from the one she said during his client’s internal disciplinary hearing at work.

He said according to the applicant’s statement which was delivered before the court, Dlamini allegedly sexually abused her between August and November 2018, yet before the disciplinary committee, she claimed that nothing took place between this period (August and November 2018). He alleged that before the disciplinary committee she claimed that the alleged sexual abuse by Dlamini took place during the year 2017.

However, in court yesterday, Titi claimed that even though she reported the matter in November 2018, the alleged sexual abuse started in 2017 and had been happening until she took up the matter with the human resources (HR) office, which eventually suspended him.

Meanwhile, Jele told the court that Titi went to report the alleged sexual abuse after his client had reprimanded and reported her to her supervisors over poor work performance on November 7, 2018.

Harassment

However, Titi claimed that she was not even aware that she was reported for poor work performance to her supervisors as they never questioned her about it. On that note, Jele argued that during the internal hearing at ESWACAA, she agreed that she reported the alleged sexual harassment on November 21, 2018 after she was reprimanded by Dlamini for poor work performance.

“It is during the internal disciplinary hearing report that you (Titi) reported Dlamini for alleged sexual harassment because he had laid a formal complaint about your poor work performance to your supervisors,” Jele said as he cross examined Titi, who did not dispute that this was a fact which was in the report.
In fact, during the trial, Jele would from time to time refer both the court and the applicant to copies of the disciplinary hearing report, which he gave them.

On that note, Jele said one could easily conclude that his client was in court because he had allegedly shouted at her on November 7, 2018.
His argument was that it had been revealed during his client’s internal disciplinary hearing that on December 4, 2017, ESWACAA staff members petitioned the administration where they complained about sexual harassment and public outbursts from the marketing department.
“After this petition, the administration encouraged all staff members who were sexually and verbally abused to report, but you (Titi) kept quiet until my client reprimanded and reported you to your superiors for poor work performance in November 2018, which was about a year later,” the lawyer said.
Outburst
Meanwhile, Titi did not dispute that management encouraged the workers to report any sexual abuse and public outburst cases. In fact, she concurred that she did not report Dlamini at the time, but eventually did so after he allegedly gave her a tongue lashing on November 7, 2018.
In addition, Titi was made to read page 103 of the disciplinary report, where she was asked if her complaint against Dlamini arose after he had complained about her poor work performance and her response in the report was to the positive.

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