Online Reporter
Conrad Mupesa
Mashonaland West Bureau
KAROI Town Council has decided to part ways with “suspended” acting town secretary, Mr Tongai Namisala, who was recently reinstated by the Labour Court.
The council now has an obligation to pay at least US$70 000 to Mr Namisala, bringing to over US$400 000, the money it has to pay in damages and legal fees for several labour-related cases it has lost in the courts.
The Labour Court upheld an arbitral award reinstating Mr Namisala, after ruling that the council’s disciplinary proceedings violated mandatory statutory timelines.
Justice Motion Jaravani recently ruled that the council had breached the 14-working-day rule under Statutory Instrument 15 of 2006 and irregularly suspended Mr Namisala twice without reinstating him between suspensions.
The court said the disciplinary authority lost jurisdiction as the matter extended into April 2025, months after the legal deadline.
Mr Namisala was suspended in 2024 following his arrest on extortion allegations involving more than US$53 000.
The disciplinary process later found him guilty and led to his dismissal, but both arbitration and the Labour Court nullified the proceedings and ordered his reinstatement or the payment of damages.
Karoi Mayor Alderman Kudakwashe Chigumo told Zimpapers that the council had decided to part ways with Namisala and pay damages instead of reinstating him.
“We have decided to part ways with Namisala and the council, will pay the damages,” he said.
The decision was made during a full council meeting last Friday.
Namisala, who was willing to accept any outcome from the council, said the decision to part ways showed the untenable working environment that now existed.
“In their determination council said the relationship is no longer tenable and they can’t work with me. The working environment is no longer conducive for me,” he said.
The case is the latest in ongoing leadership instability at Karoi Town Council, which has had at least five acting town secretaries in four years.
Residents condemned the council’s decisions to pursue the legal route that has seen it lose the battles.
Zimbabwe National Organisation of Associations of Residents Trusts (ZNOART) provincial chairman, Liberty Chitiya, said apart from owing hundreds of thousands in damages and legal fees, the council was failing to provide services to its residents.
