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SEA BIRDS STAR RUNS TO COURT OVER SWAZIMED JOB

17/08/2022 09:33:00 Chris Dlamini

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MBABANE – Out-of-contract Manzini Sea Birds midfielder Thabo Langa is breathing heavily on Swazimed’s neck as his job is on the line.

In what is a first, since most Sea Birds stars had worked for the company dealing in medical aid funding to its clients, Langa has challenged his employer, Swazimed in the Industrial Court after he was internally hauled to a disciplinary hearing, following three charges allegedly preferred against him a couple of days after the Bible Cup, last month-end in Manzini, Mavuso Sports Centre. A notice of motion was filed with the Industrial Court inside the capital city at Madlenya House yesterday, with the player represented by Lawyer Nsindiso Thwala, under the law firm styled Thwala & Associates.

disciplinary

The application before the Industrial Court came about due to the urgency the matter required as the player’s internal disciplinary hearing was due to continue yesterday, with him bringing internal representation as opposed to his lawyer. However, the motion was filed before the court and the matter is expected to be heard next Monday. Worth mentioning is that Langa is a want-away player, as he has his eyes on Manzini Wanderers, where he played the Bible Cup and Unity Cup, respectively, and continues to train with them. This follows his three-year contract with Sea Birds coming to an end on June 30, this year.

The first respondent is Swaziland Medical Aid Fund (Swazimed), while the second is Dumezweni Kunene (internal player’s DC Chairman at Swazimed). Langa, a Human Resources Officer (HR Officer) at Swazimed since 2017, as he had spent about 10 years with Sea Birds, is the applicant. In his founding affidavit, Langa alleges that the three charges against him by Swazimed ‘are trumped up and they are informed by my disinterest in the renewal of my football contract with Manzini Sea Birds Football Club’.

serving

“The Principal Officer (chief Executive Officer) of the 1st respondent, Mr Peter Simelane is a Director and/or long serving patron of this football club. The Principal Officer, who is the most senior employee of the 1st Respondent, will be a witness against me in the 2nd charge preferred against me. In this regard, no employee of the 1st respondent is likely to cross-examine the principal officer,” claims Langa in his affidavit. He goes on to state how the DC chairman, second respondent in the court case, allegedly ignored his ‘special circumstances’ despite having submitted them as he raised the issue of external representation in the DC hearing on August 4, this year when he first attended, but in the presence of a lawyer.

“On July 11, this year, I had a meeting in the office of the Principal Officer at the 1st respondent’s head office. In this meeting, he informed me in essence that, since I did not want to renew my contract with his team Manzini Sea Birds, then I should bring back his job. In essence, he meant that I must relinquish my employment with the 1st respondent,” alleges the player, but the veracity of all allegations in the founding affidavit as aforementioned above are yet to be tested in the court of law with Swazimed expected to file their responding papers.
Langa’s gist with internal representation or witnesses is that even the company’s management which was initiator of DC (Sicelo Mkhonta) was a Sea Birds Director alongside other managers of Swazimed who he alleges were one way or another linked to the club.

clarified

He also clarified that he got his job outside of Sea Birds in 2017 after he passed an interview and had the necessary qualifications for the position he was currently holding. He alleges that the principal officer left him perturbed and taken aback by the alleged demand to give him his job back. Langa also acknowledged in his court papers that Simelane had been Sea Birds Director until his election as Eswatini Football Association (EFA) President, last year whereby he left Sicelo Mkhonta, a top manager at SwaziMed to be the club’s director but he was still involved in its activities. He also states that Simelane was part of the Bible Cup games in Manzini where he saw him play for Wanderers as a free agent before he received the three charges of ‘serious breach of code of ethics and business conduct – on or about June 27, 2022, bringing the fund’s reputation to serious disrepute (on or about June July 12, 2022) and gross insubordination (on or about April 8, 2022).

“Notwithstanding such transition, the principal officer continues to be the patron of Manzini Sea Birds and he participates in its activities which include inter alia, attending training, soccer matches and allowing the 1st respondent’s cars to transport players to and from training. Attached hereto and marked are pictures of the principal officer, myself and other players of Manzini Sea Birds during a soccer match early this year. In another, the Principal Officer and the initiator (disciplinary hearing) are shown together watching a Manzini Sea Birds soccer match,” further alleged the player who attached the pictures for the court.

served

Langa was served with his charges on August 1, 2022 when Bible Cup was on July 30, 2022. He spoke of this chronology of events, which he wished the court to consider when making its ruling otherwise, he felt the main reason for the charges was merely to dismiss him from his job. In his prayers, the player is already celebrating a victory of round one as his internal disciplinary hearing could not go ahead as scheduled yesterday after the court’s decision. The matter will continue next Monday, which stays the internal DC. He also wants the court to grant him the order for external representation in disciplinary hearing at Swazimed due to the complexity of the matter which he alleges is nothing but a personal vendetta against him for leaving Sea Birds. Swazimed is yet to respond through their own answering affidavits through their own legal representatives.