NATIONAL Social Security Authority (NSSA) group legal and board secretary, Cynthia Mugwira has threatened to go to court to thwart her dismissal on charges of incompetence and attempting to use Norton legislator Temba Mliswa’s political muscle to retain her post.
BY BLESSED MHLANGA
In a letter from her lawyer Tendai Biti addressed to NSSA general manager Elizabeth Chitiga, Mugwira accused NSSA of trying to illegally dismiss her from her post by separating her roles.
“In other words, our client’s job effectively combined two functions namely that of being the group legal head as well as the group company secretary. We are instructed that, NSSA as the employer has now taken a decision to split our client’s job into two substantive constructs, that of the corporate secretary and that of the group legal adviser,” the letter read.
Biti said the move was illegal and amounted to constructive dismissal of his client.
“We advise that in terms of our law, the unilateral variation of a material condition of an employee’s contract of employment amounts to a repudiation of that contract,” he wrote. Mugwira has also accused Chitiga of trying to push her out of the company because of their severed relations.
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She also claimed to be a victim of sexual abuse by NSSA board chairman Robin Vela, who through his lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa hit back, accusing Mugwira of trying to raise dust just to cover her own tracks.
“We have perused your client’s employment contract which has provision for grievance procedures and from our instructions, our client learnt of the alleged sexual harassment when he saw your client’s letter to NSSA. As a legal practitioner of many years, who is deemed to be fully aware of her rights under the contract of employment, our client wonders why yours did not raise the alleged sexual harassment as a grievance in terms of clause 11 of her contract of employment,” Mtetwa wrote.
Mtetwa also described Mugwira as a bed-hoping character who has had numerous relationships with fellow workmates. NSSA is accusing Mugwira of failing to deliver on her duties and further trying to rope in Mliswa to force the organisation into allowing her to “sleep on the jo