The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) has been ordered to pay a former employee US$47,850 as compensation for firing her when she refused to submit to her boss’s sexual demands.
Ms Rita Mbatha was working for CZI when then CEO Farai Zitshu made inappropriate comments and sexual harassment between 2002 and 2003. When she rejected his advances, CZI fired Ms Mbatha.
She successfully sued Zitshu in the High Court five years ago, and his house in the Hatfield suburb of Harare was auctioned off by court order to satisfy the damages he had to pay to Ms Mbatha.
In December 2021, she was awarded an additional $180,000 in damages by the same court after she was fired for complaining of ongoing sexual harassment by her boss.
Last week, CZI unsuccessfully challenged Ms Mbatha’s award registration following a High Court order in November 2019. Judge Gladys Mhuri ordered CZI to pay Ms Mbatha approximately US$47,850 plus interest at the fixed rate, finding that she had been unfairly dismissed for reporting Her boss because of his inappropriate behavior.
The judge also noted that the Supreme Court order under SC 119/19 made it clear what the CZI had to pay. The High Court ruled under Case No. HC 4380/20 in favor of CZI allowing it to pay Ms Mbatha Z US$41,161.30 instead of US$41,161.30.
But the Supreme Court issued an order under Civil Appeal SC 437/22 in Case No. SC 119/19, which is still in force and has not been responded to. Justice Mhuri ruled that CZI could not claim that it paid the balance in local currency.
The judge agreed with Ms Mbatha that if CZI felt the matter was unclear, she should have sought clarification from the High Court.
“In the result, I consider that the opposition to this application was not justified,” Judge Muhuri said. “The application for registration of the order of the Supreme Court under SC 119/19 is granted. The order of the Supreme Court dated 25 November 2019 under SC 119/19 is registered as a judgment of this Court.
“The respondent (CZI) is hereby ordered to pay the applicant (Mbatha) the sum of US$47,850.01 including interest calculated at the specified rate.”
In his ruling on 21 December, Justice Joseph Mafusire noted that no amount of money seemed sufficient to compensate for her loss, but the court should not be seen to be adhering to the values enshrined in the Constitution of human dignity and integrity, and therefore compensation. It must be concrete.
Judge Mafusire noted that during the arbitration of the case, Mr Zitshu sought to dismiss his reprehensible behavior as mere joking.
He said Mr Zizhou was cruel and orchestrated Ms Mbatha’s dismissal. In his ruling, the judge also considered the balance of power and socio-economic dynamics between Ms Mbatha and Zitshu, which he said were skewed given the fact that he was the CEO and her boss.
According to letters submitted during the application, Zicho became exceptionally personal about his feelings, and at one point said he was breaking the rules in order for her to get a pay raise even though she had just finished probation.
Mr Zizhou settled the damages he had to pay using his house in Hatfield, which was auctioned by court order. Announce
