Sundaymail Editor
Nyore Madzianike
TEN police officers who were discharged from duty after failing an academic training course aimed at enhancing their professional conduct lost their bid to be reinstated and continue with studies after the High Court dismissed their application.
Ex-constables Angeline Hofisi, Delight Chiripanyanga, Obvious Hofisi, Canaan Siriva, Concilia Moyo, Nqobile Mpunzi, Liberty Sibanda, Donald Gumindoga, Kholisani Ndlovu and Mkhokheli Ntokozo Sihwa approached the High Court seeking a declaratory and consequential relief order after being discharged for failing a two-year basic diploma training programme.
The programme was being conducted in conjunction with the University of Zimbabwe (UZ).Citing the Commissioner-General of Police (CGP) and the Police Service Commission as respondents, the 10 asked High Court judge Justice Christopher Dube-Banda to compel the CGP to reverse their dismissal and allow them to continue the police diploma programme.
They argued that they were attested into the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) on November 9, 2021 and commenced training at Morris Depot on the understanding that the course was for six months, upon which they would be awarded certificates and be confirmed as members of the police service.
They claim they were told that no one would be punished for failure to complete the UZ diploma programme.
The ex-police officers further claimed they all passed the six-month course and were issued with certificates.
In the middle of the second semester of the UZ programme, they were informed that they had failed half of the courses in the first semester and would be expelled from the diploma programme and the police service.
The former constables argued that they should not have been discharged but retained based on the six-month certificate.
Further, they argued that the diploma is a UZ programme, and only the university could expel the applicants from the programme, not the police.
The CGP and the Police Service Commission, however, argued that at the beginning of 2021, the ZRP, in its quest to keep pace with the policing environment, introduced a two-year basic training programme.
Trainees, including the applicants, were informed of the consequences of failing the two programmes, the police argued.
The CGP claimed 972 trainees sat the first semester examinations and 377 passed all the modules and were allowed to proceed.
About 551 failed less than half of the modules and were allowed to repeat, and they later passed, while 44, including the 10 applicants, failed more than half of the modules and were not given an opportunity to repeat, the CGP stated.
A recommendation was then made to discharge the recruits who failed to pass at least half of the modules, and these included the 10.
After the expiry of their two-year contracts on November 8, 2023, the applicants were discharged.
After going through their application, Justice Dube-Banda ruled: “The applicants failed more than half of the modules offered in the first semester.
“This came to light when they had proceeded to the second semester because the university delayed releasing the results.”
They were discharged after the expiry of two years and given reasons for the discharges.
The applicants were informed in writing of the reasons for their discharge and acknowledged in writing.
“The applicants choose to anchor this application on manufactured facts.
This amounts to abuse of the process of this court.”It is for the above reasons that the applicants must be penalised with costs on a legal practitioner and client scale.”
Online Reporter