The Consul General of India office in Kingsmead Boulevard, Durban. (Photo: Meta)
An Indian consulate official in Durban has been recalled to India after allegations of racial discrimination and accusations that a former employee was falsely accused of spying for China.
Siphiwe Mchunu, 52, a former consular clerk who won a wrongful dismissal case against the consulate at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), said the official at the centre of the dispute, Prem Sagar Kesarapu, had been sent back to India.
A source close to the matter who asked to remain anonymous confirmed this week that Sagar had been recalled back to India the day after Mchunu won his labour case.
On 5 March, the CCMA found in Mchunu’s favour and awarded him compensation of 12 months’ salary. He did not ask to be reinstated to his position.
The consulate’s legal team had opposed his application, arguing that it had diplomatic immunity and that Mchunu was subject to India’s labour law regime, and not South Africa’s, and that the reasons behind his firing were “too sensitive” to be dealt with in a public forum.
The CCMA ruled that, given the consulate’s behaviour and the fact that he had worked there for almost 19 years in a “job he had dedicated his life to”, and that he was close to retirement, the compensation was “fair and equitable”.
Mchunu, who worked for the consulate from 2006 until the termination of his employment on April 26 last year, said he had written to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi detailing his ordeal and requesting a gratuity payment for his long service.
His initial employment contract with the consulate, signed in 1996, reflects a total of 28 years of service.
The letter also alleged that black African staff at the consulate had been subjected to racial discrimination and that they had not always received gratuity payments provided to employees of other racial backgrounds.
Mchunu said, after writing to Modi, he learned last week that the head of the chancery, Prem Sagar Kesarapu, who had taken his cellphone from him during the ordeal and allegedly emailed data from the phone to himself, had been recalled to India. A year later the phone has still not been returned to Mchunu.
The consul general of Indian in Durban, Thelma John David, had not responded to the Mail & Guardian’s questions regarding the alleged interrogation, the alleged recall of Kesarapu and the circumstances surrounding the decision, by the time of publication.
Mchunu earlier said he had also written to the department of international relations and cooperation informing it about his ordeal and outlining allegedly racist treatment of himself and other black staff members.
In his memorandum to the department, Mchunu said Kesarapu had called all South African staff members to an urgent meeting in the boardroom at about 3pm on 26 April, instructing them to bring their phones.
Mchunu said employees were told they would be fired if they refused. Kesarapu ordered them to unlock their phones and “proceeded to copy or transmit any desired information from the phones to his own device”.
At about 5pm, Mchunu was interrogated by Kesarapu, who told him official documents had been found on his phone. He was asked to provide details about his wife and children, his bank accounts and those of his family members.
Mchunu said he had explained that the documents had been sent to him for printing by the director for cultural affairs, Anasuya Boligarla.
“The second line of questioning focused on my son, who is currently employed as a teacher in China. The officials expressed curiosity as to how my son secured employment in China without possessing a degree in education,” Mchunu said.
“They inquired about any assistance he may have received in obtaining the job and questioned why he had not visited home in the last five years. Lastly, they sought information on my son’s romantic partner, specifically whether she is of Chinese nationality.”
He said he clarified how his son had obtained employment in China, highlighting the fact that numerous South Africans are working in the country in similar capacities.
“I expressed my confusion regarding the relevance of these questions about my son, as they seemed unrelated to my role at the consulate,” Mchunu said.
He said this was not the first time consular staff had harassed him about his son working in China. In 2020, he had been questioned and told that “this situation could potentially jeopardise my position with the Indian government”.
He was told that this was because “some individuals within the office had expressed suspicions that my son’s activities could be exploited by the Chinese government due to my affiliation with the Indian government”.
“Now, four years later, I find myself facing the same line of questioning, this time in a formal setting within the boardroom with six officials present,” Mchunu said.
“The meticulous note-taking during this session, coupled with the nature of the inquiries, led me to conclude that the consulate of India office in Durban believes that I am involved in espionage.”
He said he was also interrogated until about 11pm about purchasing hair weaves, bags and phones from China, despite having asked much earlier to be allowed to fetch his daughter from school.
Mchunu said he was told to return to work on 29 April when he was dismissed for “security breaches”.
This week he said he had opened a criminal case regarding the detention and interrogation, and was waiting for feedback from the police about their investigation, but it appeared that, in the meantime, officials were “running” back to India.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Paul Magwaza confirmed that Durban police were investigating the matter.
“Police in Durban Central are investigating a case of intimidation following an incident in which a 52-year-old man was allegedly intimidated by a suspect known to him on 26 April 2024,” Magwaza said.