A senior manager in the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) has obtained a protection order against the spokesperson of the MK Party in the Uthukela region, Mncedisi Makuyi, an employee of the department.
Mzwandile Hadebe first obtained an interim order from the Pietermaritzburg magistrate court on November 20, 2024.
He later obtained a final one early this week.
Radebe accused Makuyi of harassing and threatening him because he claims he got him fired from his plum job.
Makuyi recently got back his job as Deputy Director for Fire and Rescue Services after he was fired on May 15 this year following an internal disciplinary hearing. He reports directly to Hadebe, who is the director for disaster management in the department.
Makuyi used a legal provision to appeal his dismissal directly to MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi. In his appeal letter, he argued that his dismissal had nothing to do with absenteeism as alleged because he took his sick and leave days.
In his submission to Buthelezi, Makuyi claimed his termination was politically motivated, alleging that some officials in the department were purging staff members who had joined or were perceived to be sympathetic to the MK Party.
He now faces a new hurdle as Hadebe has obtained an order that prohibits any contact between them.
In his submission to the magistrate court, Hadebe alleged that Makuyi has been sending him threatening Whatsapp messages. In one of them sent in July this year, he accused him of getting him fired from his job.
“On the 8 August he sent me Whatsapp on group message and he accused me (of) having an affair with a female colleague and further insulted me that I used that female colleague to attempt to have his dismissed (SIC),” Habede submitted to the court.
Moreover, Hadebe claimed that in August this year Makuyi sent him a letter from the school of his children which was about unpaid fees. He told him that one day he shall also experience what he is going through.
Makuyi claimed that Hadebe lied in court to have the protection order granted.
“I don’t know about all the allegations he made against me in court. Instead, I am the victim who should be protected in this case,” Makuyi claimed.
Hadebe did not comment about the matter.
