Solidarity seeking order
against police
2014-10-17 08:34
Johannesburg - Solidarity is heading to the
Labour Court on Friday in order to try and force the police to redeploy
whistleblower Colonel Kobus Roos in a similar position.
The trade union is set to apply for a
contempt of court order against the police as it believes that they failed to
abide by a previous court ruling to reinstate Roos to a crime intelligence
position.
Roos, who has worked for the police for 26
years, was originally demoted by ex-crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli,
after he exposed corruption in the crime intelligence unit.
Mdluli removed Roos from his position as head
of internal audit and placed him in the inspectorate and evaluation division of
the union - a post the union said was redundant.
In April, the Labour Court ordered the police
to redeploy Roos to a similar position as that he had before his demotion.
Judge Robert Lagrange ruled at the time that:
"The respondents [the SAPS] are obliged to give preference to Roos in any
application for appointment or promotion in a post reasonably acceptable to
him..."
However, Roos was subsequently moved to the
SAPS head office, despite there apparently being colonel positions open in
crime intelligence.
Previously, national police spokesperson
Lieutenant General Solomon Makgale said the application would be opposed, as
the police felt they had complied with the order.
According to the union, Mdluli had originally
appointed Roos to investigate an account but when Roos uncovered proof of
corruption in the unit, Mdluli stopped the investigation and transferred Roos.
In the April court ruling, the police were
also ordered to pay Roos R156 250 in compensation and pay costs.
