Case Law[2024] ZALAC 21South Africa
Mabunda v South African Police Services and Others (JA57/22) [2024] ZALAC 21 (2 May 2024)
Labour Appeal Court of South Africa
2 May 2024
Headnotes
on 9 and 10 November 2011. The Bargaining Council award (Award) was delivered on 28 November 2011 per Margaret Smith, but received by Mr Mabunda on 5 December 2011. Mr Mabunda’s dismissal was held to be procedurally and substantively fair. Aggrieved by the Award, Mr Mabunda launched an application to review and set aside the Award to the Labour Court on 17 January 2012. The review was dismissed in his absence by the Honourable Justice Van Niekerk on 31 August 2016. Mr Mabunda thereafter brought an application to rescind the Labour Court
Judgment
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## Mabunda v South African Police Services and Others (JA57/22) [2024] ZALAC 21 (2 May 2024)
Mabunda v South African Police Services and Others (JA57/22) [2024] ZALAC 21 (2 May 2024)
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sino date 2 May 2024
THE
LABOUR APPEAL COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA, JOHANNESBURG
Not
Reportable
Case
No: JA57/22
In
the matter between:
WILLIAM
MARKET MABUNDA
Appellant
And
SOUTH
AFRICAN POLICE SERVICES
First
Respondent
SAFETY
& SECURITY SECTORAL BARGAINING
COUNCIL
Second
Respondent
MARGARETH
SMITH N.O.
Third
Respondent
Heard:
16 November 2023
Delivered:
02 May 2024
Coram:
Waglay JP, et Malindi and Savage
AJJA
##
## JUDGMENT
JUDGMENT
MALINDI
AJA
Introduction
[1]
The appellant for rescission, Mr William Market Mabunda (Mabunda),
was charged
by the first respondent, the South African Police Service
(SAPS) with four charges, primarily relating to his disposal or
release
of a motor vehicle which was under the SAPS’s custody
as an impounded vehicle. It is alleged that Mr Mabunda, who was then
a Warrant Officer in the SAPS, gave instructions to one Mr Joseph C
Mabena (Mabena), a tow truck driver, (as an alleged representative
of
the owner) to tow it to Mamelodi West. It is alleged that Mr Mabunda
fraudulently completed a false vehicle disposal form in
terms of SAP
430i to the effect that the investigation giving rise to the
vehicle’s impoundment was complete and that it
may be returned
to its lawful owner. It is alleged that the vehicle was to be
delivered at Mr Mabunda’s stepfather’s
place although it
was allegedly bought by his brother, Mr Aubrey Mabunda (Aubrey).
[2]
Then Warrant Officer Suzman Solly Ngobeni, and now Captain in the
SAPS (Capt.
Ngobeni) was the investigating officer in this matter. Mr
Mabunda released the vehicle in his absence.
[3]
The offence took place on 16 November 2007. An internal
disciplinary action
was instituted in 2009 and Mr Mabunda was found
guilty and dismissed on 31 March 2009. He was aggrieved by the
outcome and referred
the dispute to arbitration under the auspices of
the Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council (SSSBC), the
arbitration proceedings
were held on 9 and 10 November 2011. The
Bargaining Council award (Award) was delivered on 28 November 2011
per Margaret Smith,
but received by Mr Mabunda on 5 December 2011. Mr
Mabunda’s dismissal was held to be procedurally and
substantively fair.
Aggrieved by the Award, Mr Mabunda launched an
application to review and set aside the Award to the Labour Court on
17 January
2012. The review was dismissed in his absence by the
Honourable Justice Van Niekerk on 31 August 2016. Mr Mabunda
thereafter brought
an application to rescind the Labour Court
judgment before the Honourable Justice Mahosi and the application was
dismissed on 2
September 2021.
[4]
On 25 May 2022, Mr Mabunda petitioned the Judge President for leave
to appeal
the judgment of Mahosi J and leave was granted on 22 August
2022.
Background
and salient facts
[5]
Mabunda worked at the Vehicle Investigation Services (VIS) in
Pretoria, the
vehicle theft unit. Then Warrant Officer, and now
Lieutenant Maluleka, had seized/impounded the vehicle while it was in
a Ms Vovo’s
possession. No further particulars relating to this
Ms Vovo are available, although Mr Mabunda alleges that he assisted
her in
reclaiming the vehicle that she had bought and therefore was
the lawful owner thereof.
[6]
At the arbitration, Capt. Ngobeni testified that he had been
investigating the
case for a long time, estimated to be a year. He
learnt, after being unavailable for a long period on a separate
covert investigation,
that the vehicle had been handed over to a
person who had come to collect it. When he returned from this covert
operation, he reported
three cars missing from his list of impounded
vehicles including the Mazda 323, in terms of National Instruction 1
of 1997 (Order
1 of 1997). He compiled the report in anticipation of
an audit to be conducted by the inspectorate on impounded vehicles.
[7]
The vehicle disposal order form reflected Mr Mabunda as the
investigating officer.
[8]
Mr Mabunda contended that he acted properly because if an
investigating officer
in a matter is not around, other officers may
assist the person making inquiries regarding their impounded
property.
[9]
It is common cause that the relevant vehicle disposal form SAP 430i
provides
for the release of the vehicle to the lawful owner or person
authorised by the lawful owner.
[10]
The SAP 430i lists Mr Mabena as the owner who towed the vehicle to Mr
Mabunda’s stepfather’s
place (Mr Mabunda Snr). Mr
Mabunda’s version is that the vehicle was bought by his
brother, Aubrey, from Ms Vovo. In other
words, Aubrey had become the
new owner of the vehicle after buying it from Ms Vovo. Aubrey
authorised Mr Mabena to collect the
vehicle from the pound.
Therefore, Mr Mabena was authorised by the lawful owner to collect
the vehicle.
[11]
As a result of Capt. Ngobeni reporting the vehicle as missing and the
discovery that Mr Mabunda was
instrumental in its release from the
pound, Captain BJ Van der Westhuissen (Capt. Van der Westhuissen), a
VIS commander, was appointed
to conduct a full investigation into the
matter.
[12]
Capt. Van der Westhuissen testified that when he was taken to the
address where Mr Mabena delivered
the vehicle (at Mr Mabunda’s
stepfather’s place), the vehicle could not be found although Mr
Mabunda Snr said it was
parked in the garage. Mabunda Snr said it
must have been removed overnight.
[13]
Capt. Van der Westhuissen’s further investigations revealed
that the lawful owner of the vehicle
was in fact Mr Isaac Malete (Mr
Malete), according to a certificate of registration, who was in the
process of selling the car
to a Mr JP Malete.
[14]
During Capt. Van der Westhuissen’s investigation, it was
discovered that no ownership of any
vehicle under Aubrey’s name
was found in terms of the National Traffic Information System
(eNatis). This is despite Mr Mabunda’s
evidence that Aubrey ran
a taxi service and had bought the vehicle to enlist it in his
business.
[15]
According to Capt. Van der Westhuissen, Mr Mabena did not present the
right documents for the release
of the vehicle from the pound. The
correct documents would have been a vehicle registration certificate
and the owner’s identity
document (ID) if collected by the
owner or; if collected by a representative of the owner, the owner’s
permission letter
that a representative collects the vehicle, the
vehicle registration certificate and copies of the owner’s and
representative’s
IDs. In short: the registration certificate,
permission letter and ID of the owner are required if the vehicle is
to be handed
over to a person other than the owner.
[16]
At the time that Capt. Van der Westhuissen testified the vehicle was
still missing, and it was not
at Aubrey’s house.
Assessment
of the full evidence
[17]
In view of the grounds of review put forward by the appellant, it is
convenient to deal with the assessment
of the totality of the
evidence in the arbitration immediately.
[18]
Mr Mabunda contends that it is practice that if the investigating
officer is not available, especially
on a consistent basis, another
officer may attend to the disposal of a vehicle if it is claimed by
the lawful owner. In this regard,
the evidence of how he took over
this matter was ventilated in the arbitration.
[19]
The version that was put to Capt. Van der Westhuissen was that Mr
Mabunda had never said that Mr Mabena
was the lawful owner of the
vehicle but that his brother bought the vehicle from Ms Vovo. Ms Vovo
had in turn bought the vehicle
from its previous owner. Ms Vovo was
in possession of the vehicle when it was seized by Lt Maluleke.
Aubrey, as the new owner,
gave a permission letter authorising Mr
Mabena to collect the vehicle from the pound. Mr Mabena collected the
vehicle and delivered
it at Mr Mabunda Snr’s place.
[20]
Capt. Ngobeni testified at the arbitration proceedings held on 9 and
10 November 2011 that only the
docket enquiry officer may authorise
the release of the vehicle, alternatively, may authorise another
person to do so if the investigating
officer is satisfied with the
correct ownership. In other words, it has to be confirmed with the
enquiry officer if the vehicle
may be released in their absence.
[21]
However, Capt. Ngobeni was not aware of the disposal of the vehicle
either on the day it was done nor
for many months thereafter until
the owner arrived at his office enquiring after his vehicle. The
lawful owner of the vehicle,
Mr Malete claimed his impounded vehicle
some seven months later after it was released by Mr Mabunda. This
alerted the investigating
officer, Capt. Ngobeni, to the vehicle’s
disappearance without his authority, he testified.
[22]
When Mr Malete came to collect his car, Capt. Ngobeni completed the
SAP430i on 10 June 2008 and handed
everything to Mr Malete to collect
his car at the pound. While Capt. Ngobeni was driving out of the
police station on his way to
the Eastern Cape, Mr Malete called to
inform him that the car was not found in the pound. He returned to
the police station and
verified that the vehicle was not there. There
was also no indication in his file that the car had been disposed of
previously.
This version contradicts that of Mr Mabunda who testified
that he called Capt. Ngobeni on the day that Ms Vovo first came to
his
office and that Capt. Ngobeni had given him permission to take
over the investigation.
[23]
Furthermore, Mr Mabunda’s assertion that he had taken over the
investigation and that it had
taken him three weeks to complete it is
contradicted by Capt. Ngobeni’s version that he had completed
the investigation,
that he had called Mr Malete several times and had
even left notice at Mr Malete’s house to collect the car as it
had been
cleared as lawfully his.
[24]
Mr Mabunda tendered evidence that clearly contradicts his version
that he had contacted Capt. Ngobeni
when he testified that, because
of Ngobeni being frequently unavailable, he took over as
investigating officer and that there was
no need to obtain prior
permission to do this from Capt. Ngobeni. He testified further that
he put his details as investigating
officer on the vehicle disposal
order form because if one has done any investigation on a case they
put their details on the form.
This explains why when Capt. Ngobeni
attended to this matter when Mr Malete reported to his office, his
file did not show that
the vehicle had already been disposed of. Mr
Mabunda had not inserted the SAP 430i bearing his name as the
investigator in the
file.
[25]
Mr Mabunda was at sixes and sevens under cross-examination regarding
ownership of the vehicle by Aubrey.
Examples of his evidence in the
following respects reveal this:
25.1 His
brother handed in the permission letter in mid-January 2007 and but
for certain documents still outstanding,
they would have released the
car in January 2007 and not on 16 November 2007. There is no
explanation of what these missing documents
were. According to Lt
Maluleke, all documents were placed in the file when he impounded the
vehicle. He testified that he was satisfied
that Ms Vovo was the
lawful owner because of the sale agreement she had in her possession.
He, however, conceded that the matter
required investigation because
the vehicle registration certificate was not in her name and only the
purchase agreement served
as proof of ownership.
25.2 A lawful
owner is one that presents a letter of permission, registration
certificate and the ID “
of the person from whom you bought
the vehicle”.
Mr Mabunda deliberately leaves out that the
ID should be that of the lawful owner and not of a person from whom
the vehicle is
allegedly bought.
25.3 He
considers the lawful owner of the vehicle to be Ms Vovo because Vovo
brought in the vehicle registration document,
and all other
documents, including the registration certificate, ID copy, purchase
agreement, and her ID copy. This could not be
so as according to his
evidence, Mr Mabena was only given Ms Vovo’s permission letter,
the purchase agreement between Ms
Vovo and a Mr Molako and a copy of
Vovo’s ID.
25.4 He could
not have told his brother, Aubrey, about the availability of the car
to purchase after he assisted Ms
Vovo with the release of the car
from the pound three weeks before 16 November 2007 if his brother had
already issued a permission
letter in mid-January 2007. During his
investigation, Ms Vovo lost interest in the vehicle and sold it to
Aubrey for R12 000.
25.5 Mr
Mabunda belatedly introduces a registration certificate in Ms Vovo’s
possession on the basis that she
had another registration certificate
besides the one in the file because cloned vehicles can have more
than one certificate. Besides
this afterthought, had he retrieved
Capt. Ngobeni’s enquiry docket in his enthusiasm to advance the
Batho Pele
principles by assisting Ms Vovo, the existence of
two registration certificates would have concerned him and he would
not have
released the vehicle.
25.6 Mabunda
alleges that the charge was not proved because the owner, Ms Vovo,
was not called. While assisting
Ms Vovo, he called Capt. Ngobeni and
Capt. Ngobeni told him to proceed with the investigation.
25.7 Unable
to deny that there is a vehicle registration certificate in Mr
Malete’s name, he said that he was
aware of Malete’s
registration certificate and also that Mr Malete had sold the car to
Ms Vovo. It was never his version
that Ms Vovo had bought the car
from Mr Malete but that it was from Mr JP Malete. He later denied
that the car had two registration
certificates.
25.8 When he
was unable to produce proof of the sale agreement for R12 000
between Aubrey and Ms Vovo, he alleged
that the police had broken
into his house and had taken documents and appliances. However, if
his evidence is true that he made
copies of documents that Ms Vovo
had given him and kept them in his enquiry docket, they would not
have been at home.
25.9 Asked
about the vehicle's whereabouts, Mr Mabunda testified that he could
not return or retrieve the car from his
stepfather or Aubrey because
it was involved in an accident before Capt. Van der Westhuissen went
searching for it and it was taken
to Ext 6. He told Capt. Van der
Westhuissen about this. It was seized (by the police) thereafter
because it had been allowed, i.e.
owner registration details used in
many identical vehicles.
25.10 The
version that the car was given to Aubrey’s taxi driver to use
as a taxi was not put to any witness,
especially Capt. Van der
Westhuissen who was investigating its whereabouts.
25.11 In his
2010 statement, Mr Mabunda says it was after some days that Ms Vovo
came back to the office and he took
her statement and presented the
file to Capt. Bennets for the disposal of the vehicle. In evidence,
he said it took nearly three
weeks to investigate.
25.12 In his
2010 statement, Mr Mabunda states that later in the day when Ms Vovo
came to his office, the documents
in her possession were copied and
he gave same to Capt. Ngobeni. It was on this day and at this stage
that Capt. Ngobeni asked
him to continue with the investigation and
he took it over. This totally contradicts his evidence that Capt.
Ngobeni was not available
on the day and had in fact been unavailable
on a number of occasions hence, in the spirit of
Batho Pele
,
he took it upon himself to assist Vovo.
Conclusions
on the evidence
[26]
In argument, Ms Masondo who appeared for Mr Mabunda, relied heavily
on Capt. Ngobeni’s evidence
that he did not authorise the
release of the vehicle but that the group commander or docket monitor
may authorise action on a docket
when the allocated investigating
officer is not available (or unable to execute an action).
[27]
Capt. Ngobeni testified further under cross-examination that there
was compliance with SAP 430i and
therefore that Capt. Bennets was
acting appropriately when she authorised the release of the vehicle
after Mr Mabunda submitted
the documentation. Capt. Bennets testified
on her part that all documents would be in the disposal order per SAP
430i in order
for her to authorise the release of a vehicle.
[28]
Capt. Ngobeni also testified that the release of the vehicle must be
his decision. I understand this
to mean that the investigator must be
consulted on the final decision to release a vehicle if they are
still alive and able to
take that decision even if another officer
concludes the investigation in their absence.
[29]
Mr Mabunda could only proffer a nonsensical answer as to why Capt.
Ngobeni would open a case of theft
of the vehicle under Order 1 of
1997 if he knew that Mr Mabunda had taken over the investigation. His
response was that he was
equally puzzled because Capt. Ngobeni could
simply have come to him for the reason why the vehicle had gone
missing. Clearly, Capt.
Ngobeni would not have opened the Order 1 of
1997 enquiry if he knew that Mr Mabunda had taken over the
investigation and had disposed
of the vehicle.
[30]
Whereas both Lt Maluleke and Mr Mabunda received documents from Ms
Vovo at the time of the seizure
of the vehicle and its release,
respectively, these documents have gone missing in their original
form and as copies. Mr Mabunda
could not explain why he did not
simply ask Ms Vovo to give the originals to Capt. Van der Westhuissen
when Capt. Van der Westhuissen
was investigating the theft of the car
from the pound. He proffered a nonsensical answer that he did not
want to interfere with
a witness because when he contacted Mr Malete
he threatened to report him for interference with the investigation.
[31]
Mr Mabunda seeks to blame Capt. Van der Westhuissen for not
contacting Ms Vovo during his criminal
investigation into the theft
of the car at the pound. He was also required to discharge the
evidentiary burden of calling Vovo
as his witness. The fact that he
did not do so draws an adverse inference that he knew that she was
not going to support his version.
[32]
He could not explain why he did not disclose Ms Vovo’s
documents at the disciplinary hearing
before they were allegedly
stolen from his house.
[33]
This evidence was considered in the arbitration.
[34]
Mr Mabunda was found guilty in the disciplinary hearing on 31 March
2009. He referred the matter
to the second respondent, the SSSBC, and
the Award was delivered on 28 November 2011, but stamped as
received on 5 December
2011 by the Bargaining Council. The
arbitrator, Mrs M Smith, held that the dismissal was procedurally and
substantially fair.
In
the Labour Court
[35]
On 16 January 2012, Mr Mabunda launched a review application praying
for the Award to be set aside.
He set out the grounds of review as
follows:
‘
7.
Grounds of Review: I submit that the annexed arbitration award is
defective as enunciated
in section 145 of the Labour Relations Act,
for the following reasons:
7.1
The arbitrator misconstrued her duties as an arbitrator who is
appointed to resolve disputes
in terms of the Act.
7.2
The arbitrator also misconstrued the evidence that was placed before
her hence she ended
(sic) making a finding that is not supported by
the facts of this matter.
7.3
She did not apply her mind to the evidence properly placed before her
hence her reasoning
is not supported by the facts before her.
7.4
Despite the provisions of section 138(1) of the Act, she failed to
adhere and to apply the
law of evidence and thus she exceeded the
power she derives from the law.
7.5
The arbitrator committed a misconduct or a gross irregularity by
giving weight to inadmissible
evidence while failing to give weight
to admissible evidence, that clearly indicated that my dismissal was
unfair.
7.6
She exceeded the power she derives from the Act, by upholding my
dismissal while on the
other hand the employer failed to lead
admissible evidence that supported the charges proffered against me.
7.7
The arbitrator failed to determine the dispute in accordance with the
principle of fairness,
as her factual finding does not correspond
with the evidence properly placed before her.’
[36]
The grounds of
review were supplemented in terms of Rule 7A(6) and (8) of the Labour
Court Rules.
[1]
[37]
On 31 August 2016, Van Niekerk J (as he then was) made an
order dismissing the review application.
The transcript of
proceedings on the day records Van Niekerk J as having said:
‘
COURT:
My concern is that there are simply no grounds for review made out in
this
application…’
[38]
On 26 August 2019, Mr Mabunda launched a rescission application
of the order of Van Niekerk J
in terms of Rule 16A(a)(1).
The application was opposed by the SAPS.
[39]
The rescission application was considered on the papers on
1 September 2021 by Mahosi J.
This delay was clearly a
result of the COVID-19 restrictions and protocols applicable at the
time.
[40]
Judgment was delivered on 2 September 2021.
[41]
Following the dismissal of the application for leave to appeal, Mr
Mabunda launched his petition for
leave to appeal on 25 May
2022. The Labour Appeal Court granted leave to appeal on 22 August
2022.
The
rescission proceedings
[42]
The notice of appeal sets out three grounds of appeal. They can be
summarised as follows. The Labour
Court –
42.1 erred in
assessing Mr Mabunda’s reasons for his absence at Court when
the review hearing came before Van
Niekerk J;
42.2 failed
to apply the principles embedded in the assessment of “
erroneously
sought or granted
” and “
good cause shown
”;
42.3 failed
to assess the prospects of success on appeal and that the arbitrator
had misdirected herself in assessing
the evidence before her and the
appropriateness of the sanction.
[43]
Mahosi J dealt with the dismissal of the review application on
the merits and said:
‘
In addition, to an
extent that Van Niekerk J dismissed the applicant’s review
application, he clearly has no prospects
of succeeding in his review
application.’
[44]
This was held in view of Van Niekerk J’s finding that Mr
Mabunda had not set out appropriate
grounds for review in the review
application or had not established such grounds in the application.
[45]
In describing the nature of his application before Mahosi J, Mr
Mabunda says that he seeks rescission
of the Van Niekerk J
judgment dismissing his review “
due (to) non-appearance of
the appell
ant”. This is not the reason that the review
application was dismissed. It was dismissed for lack of merits to
sustain a review
and setting aside of the Award. Since
Van Niekerk J’s finding in this regard has not been
appealed against, his
order stands. In the circumstances, Mahosi J’s
finding that this defect destroys any prospects of success on review
is correct. It is trite law that where there are no prospects of
success on appeal or review, even a full and reasonable explanation
for default will not compensate for the lack of a prospect of
success.
[46]
Mahosi J also
dealt with Mr Mabunda’s contentions on the conduct of his
representatives and grounds for rescission in
terms of Rule 16A and
section 165 of the Labour Relations Act.
[2]
Having sketched the history of Mr Mabunda’s default, especially
his erstwhile attorney’s letter of 8 July 2018,
the Court
concluded that:
‘
[11]
To an extent that the applicant seeks to rescind or set aside the
Court order on the basis that it
was granted in his absence, Rule
16A(2)(b) is applicable. Accordingly, the applicant is required to
show cause why the Court order
should be set aside. As such, he must
not only show that he has sufficient and reasonable explanation for
the default, but must
also show that he has a prospect of success in
the review application.
[12]
It is apparent that the Registrar sent all the notices, including the
notice of set down, to
the addresses that the applicant had provided
in the notice of set down and the notice in terms of Rule 7A(6) and
(8)(6) of the
Rules of this Court. It is further apparent that the
Court order that is sought to be rescinded was not granted
erroneously. This
is so because the transcribed record of the
proceedings of 31 August 2016, shows that, having established
that the applicant
was in default of appearance, Van Niekerk J
raised a concern that the review application lacked grounds of
review. On
the basis thereof, he dismissed the application.
[13]
I agree with the first respondent that the applicant’s failure
to give notice of change
of address and Mr Kuhn’s
unprofessional conduct do not (sic) constitute good cause. In
addition to an extent that Van Niekerk J
dismissed the
applicant’s review application, he clearly has no prospect of
succeeding in his review application.’
[47]
The letter of 8 July 2018 by Mr Kuhn reads as follows:
‘
[5]
The applicant submitted that he subsequently appointed Mr Kuhn of
Rudolf Kuhn Attorneys and further
alleges that the notice of set down
was sent to Mr Kuhn who later alleged that he could not remember
receiving it. In the letter
dated 8 July 2018, Mr Kuhn confirmed the
following to the applicant:
“
1.
You terminated my mandate in July 2018 and collected your file
contents on 09 July 2018.
2.
You telephoned me on 1 July 2019 and requested assistance with
your matter.
3.
On 4 July 2019, you furnished me with a number of documents. It
appears that the application for
enrolment on the opposed roll dated
7 March 2016 was sent to you at Suite No 2, 1
st
Harmonie Building, 16 Merriman Avenue Vereeniging by registered post.
It appears that it was also faxed to the fax number that
I was using
at the time but I don’t recall whether I received it or what
transpired at the time.
4.
The directive for heads argument dated 15 April 2015 was not set
to me but appears to have
been sent to a fax number 085 537
9320, which is unknown to me.
5.
The notice of set down dated 18 August 2016 under case number
JR3232/11 was not sent to me.
6.
I confirm having advised you that I am not able to assist you further
in this matter and that you
should seek legal advice in the event
that you wish to pursue your matter.”’
[48]
The appellant’s contentions that Mahosi J failed to
consider the applicable law to an application
for rescission are not
borne out of her treatment of the application above.
Conclusion
[49]
It is clear that Mr Mabunda’s default was a result of relevant
notices and directives of the
Labour Court being sent to the
addresses and contact fax numbers of his erstwhile attorneys, Mr
Gobile and Mr Kuhn, both of whom
were no longer representing him at
the relevant time when the review application was to be heard. These
attorneys and Mr Mabunda
had failed to provide the Labour Court’s
Registrar with Mr Mabunda’s direct contact numbers and had
failed to file
notices of withdrawal in terms of the Rules of the
Labour Court. Mahosi J held that these failures do not
constitute good
cause to grant a rescission of an order of Court.
[50]
Regarding the
treatment of Mr Mabunda’s prospect of success on review, Mahosi
J dealt with the requirements thereof. This
Court has further dealt
in full with the evidence presented before the Bargaining Council.
The Court is satisfied that there is
no prospect of success on
review. Van Niekerk J was correct that the grounds of review failed
to sustain the test that an arbitration
award is reviewable and bound
to be set aside if the decision maker has come to a decision that a
reasonable decision maker could
not come to.
[3]
Mr Mabunda was a mendacious witness. Capt. Van der Westhuissen was a
very good witness. The same cannot be said for Capt. Ngobeni,
Lt
Maluleke and Capt. Bennets - all who vacillated on important aspects
of the evidence. However, their clear attempts to protect
Mr Mabunda
at times are outweighed by the common cause facts and other objective
evidence.
[51]
In the circumstances, the Labour Court exercised its discretion not
to grant rescission judicially.
[52]
Therefore, the following order is made:
Order
1.
The appeal is dismissed.
2.
There is no order as to
costs.
Malindi
AJA
Waglay
JP and Savage AJA concur.
APPEARANCES:
FOR
THE APPELLANT:
Ms N
Masondo
Instructed
by S Mabaso Inc. Attorneys
FOR
THE RESPONDENTS:
Adv A
Mofokeng
Instructed
by State Attorney
[1]
GN 1665 of 1996: Rules for the Conduct of Proceedings in the Labour
Court.
[2]
Act
66 of 1995, as amended.
[3]
Sidumo
and Another v Rustenburg Platinum Mines and Others
(2007)
28 ILJ 2045 (CC);
2008 (2) SA 24
(CC)
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