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George Mukaro was employed in the sales and distribution department of Colcom. On the date in question, he went into the Colcom shop and took packets of biltong, which he wanted to sell to Avonlea Service Station.
At the till point, Mukaro advised one Edward Mwaramba not to count the packets of biltong, but advised that they were 40. Edward took Mukaro’s words as the truth and did not count the packets of biltong.
At the exit point, the guards wanted to verify the actual number of packets but Mukaro said there was no need to count since they were 40 packets.
The guards insisted on checking and discovered there were 10 extra packets of biltong.
The employer submitted that since Mukaro had told both the till operator and the guards that it was not necessary to verify the number of items, then he most probably had the intention to steal the extra 10 packets.
He was charged with theft, found guilty and dismissed.
Mukaro submitted that since he was assisting a customer who kept making inquiries while he was counting the packets, he made a mistake in counting 50 instead of 40.
Labour Court president Ms Lilian Hove said the fact that Mukaro was not sure of how many packets he had eventually picked because of disturbances from the customer ought to have made him take opportunity to
recount at the till point.
Ms Hove said: “But he instead told the till operator that he had picked 40 packets and there was no need to count.
“He also tried to ensure that his packets were not counted by the guard.”
The inference that one could draw was that Mukaro knew that he had 50 packets and did not want the till operator and the guard to find out.
Ms Hove said decisions in labour matters – like in civil proceedings – were decided on the basis of probabilities.
“In this case, the facts show that Mukaro most probably knew that he had 10 extra packets.
“The conclusion is therefore unav-oidable that Mukaro attempted to steal the 10 extra packets,” said Ms Hove.
She then dismissed Mukaro’s appeal for lack of merit.
Online Reporter