Court orders ex-envoys’ reinstatement, compensation
Three of the seven Malawian diplomats who were expelled from South Africa before government interdicted them can now afford a smile after the Industrial Relations Court (IRC) Lilongwe Registry ordered their reinstatement.
The court has further directed government to compensate the three former diplomats for unjust labour practices.
The three, Dolipher Chikafutwa, Rose Katuya and Gloria Bamusi, who was then acting Malawi’s High Commissioner to South Africa, are all employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The South African government declared seven Malawian diplomats, who were serving at Malawi High Commission in Pretoria and the consulate in Johannesburg, persona non grata on June 11 2021.
Persona non grata is a legal term used by a host nation when expelling an unwanted person by a host nation and the seven were expelled for being suspected of illegal sale of duty-free alcohol.
However, since their return on June 14 2021, the former diplomats have never stepped their feet in office after they were told to stay home until their issues were resolved.
The diplomats and their families were given three working days to leave the Rainbow Nation. At the time of the expulsions, Malawi had no permanent High Commissioner or Deputy High Commissioner in South Africa.
According to a default judgement of matter number IRC 239 of 2024, the Attorney General (AG), was sued on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond or file defence to the case.
Private practice lawyer Eric Salima, who represented the three, said government was yet to act on the court order and they have since written the Attorney General Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda to effect the enforcement.
The Attorney General was not available for comment but Ministry of Justice spokesperson Frank Namangale asked for more time before commenting.
The expelled diplomats underwent a disciplinary hearing upon their return to Malawi after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instituted an investigation in coordination with the Department of Human Resource Management and Development (DHRMD).
Before the disciplinary hearing, the ministry gave the former diplomats 10 days to individually explain their cases.
South Africa’s Ministry of International Relations said in a statement issued on June 11 2021 its decision to declare the seven persona non grata was taken after the diplomats “were found guilty of engaging in illicit trade in duty-free alcohol” following an intensive investigation into their flouting of diplomatic privileges.
Labour expert, and former Malawi Congress of Trade Union (MCTU) general secretary Robert Mkwezalamba, in an earlier interview faulted government for condemning the expelled diplomats before establishing what happened.
He also asked government to make public its findings so that “Malawians learn the truth, because the reasons might not be the tax evasion, but something different”. Besides the Malawians, the South African Government also expelled diplomats from Ghana, Rwanda, Burundi and Lesotho who were also previously named in the investigation conducted by the South African Revenue Services (Sars).
