The battle between embattled former National Intelligence Agency (NIA) director general Billy Masetlha and President Thabo Mbeki is not over yet, despite the Constitutional Court’s ruling this week that upheld Mbeki’s decision to sack him.
Masetlha has vowed to take the fight to another level by demanding that the state pay him a higher financial settlement than the one offered to him last year.
Masetlha rejected the R1,7-million golden handshake offered to him by the government because the money was deposited into his bank account without his knowledge. He also felt the settlement was insufficient as it did not include other benefits, such as housing and car allowances.
Masetlha’s lawyer, Imraan Haffegee, told the Mail & Guardian this week that Masetlha was looking for more than R1,7-million as a financial settlement. ‘Before anything can be deposited into his account, we need to sit down with them and discuss a decent financial settlement. The amount they deposited previously was insufficient.â€
His remarks came after the Constitutional Court ordered the government to pay Masetlha all his financial benefits, including his full salary from the date of his dismissal in March last year until the expiry of his contract in December this year.
Masetlha forfeited almost all his benefits after the Pretoria High Court ruling last year, which also upheld Mbeki’s decision to fire him. Mbeki terminated Masetlha’s contract in March last year, saying there was a breakdown of trust. Masetlha challenged the dismissal on the basis that Mbeki did not follow proper procedures and had no powers to fire him.
The Constitutional Court judges expressed different opinions on the matter this week, with some criticising the manner in which Mbeki fired Masetlha. Judges Thobile Madlala and Sandile Ngcobo argued that Mbeki acted unfairly when he unilaterally altered Masetlha’s term of employment as the head of NIA.
‘The president was obliged to consult Masetlha before taking a decision to alter his term of office so as to terminate his appointment prior to its scheduled expiry date. In failing to do so, the president acted in breach of the Constitution,†argued Ngcobo.
The majority of judges, seven out of nine, argued that Mbeki’s decision to fire Masetlha was constitutionally permissible, but held that the government was obliged to put Masetlha in the same financial position he would have been in before his termination.
Presidential spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga said the government would pay Masetlha in line with the Constitutional Court ruling.