MBABANE – Two suspended Assistant Customs Officers stationed at the Lavumisa Border Post have taken the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) to the Industrial Court, seeking to stop disciplinary proceedings against them on the grounds that the charges were brought outside the period allowed by the employer’s disciplinary code.
Mduduzi Mathenjwa and Mlungisi Dlamini filed an urgent application on June 30, 2026, asking the court to review and set aside decisions by their respective disciplinary chairpersons, who dismissed their preliminary objections to the disciplinary process.
The two officers face several misconduct charges involving alleged dishonesty and breaches of the ERS Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy.
In court papers, the applicants contend that the ERS failed to comply with its own Disciplinary Code and Procedure, which forms part of their employment contracts. They argue that the code requires disciplinary charges to be instituted within 10 days after an investigation has been completed.
According to the application, the internal investigations were concluded on November 14, 2025, but the applicants were only formally charged on February 4, 2026.
They submit that instituting charges outside the prescribed period, without first consulting them or obtaining their agreement, amounted to a unilateral variation of the terms and conditions of their employment and a breach of contract.
The application follows separate rulings delivered in March 2026 by disciplinary chairpersons Henry Sukati and Philisiwe Mabuza, who both dismissed the officers’ objections.
Sukati held that the “show-cause” process formed part of the investigation and that the disciplinary charges had therefore not been instituted outside the prescribed period. Mabuza found that the ERS had provided a reasonable explanation for the delay and that the applicants had failed to demonstrate that they suffered any prejudice as a result.
Mathenjwa and Dlamini, who remain on suspension with full pay, state in their application that they approached the court to obtain an expeditious determination of the dispute. They argue that it is in the interests of justice and fairness, including to the employer, which continues to pay their salaries while they remain on suspension.
The ERS has opposed the application and filed a notice raising points of law.
Represented by Musa M. Sibandze Attorneys in association with Banele Gamedze Attorneys, the revenue authority argues that the applicants have failed to satisfy the legal requirements for the granting of an interim interdict.
The ERS further contends that the urgency relied upon by the applicants is self-created, arguing that they have not demonstrated why the matter cannot be heard in the ordinary course of the court’s roll.
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