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NEWS I Letters To the Editor
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Know your Rights I Legal Advisor
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Wife
Cheated Out Of Property
Dear Advisor
Thank you very much for your educative newsletter. It is helping us a lot in
knowing our rights and I strongly hope that you will help me deal with this
case. My daughter Precious Makando, a widow, sued Longinos Makando, the
elder brother of the deceased Charles Makando in the Kabwe local court for
property grabbing. On August 31, 2000 Longinos was found guilty and he was
ordered to give back all the property he had grabbed. He did not comply with
the court order and in November 2000 he was again summoned for contempt of
court. The court again directed him to give Precious all the property but he
did not. But this man wrote a letter-informing Precious to take the matter
to a different court if she so wished. It was surprising. May I now ask,
which court is convenient to handle property grabbing cases and how long is
it supposed to take? I have seen in this case that my daughter has been
denied her rights. I am therefore asking Legal Resources Foundation to
intervene in this matter to assist my daughter retrieve the property.
Yours Cosmas Mweene
Kabwe Rural.
Dear
Cosmas Mweene,
The local courts have jurisdiction to hear and determine matrimonial or
inheritance cases based upon African Customary Law only, whose value is not
more that K3, 000, 000 for a Grade A Court and K2, 500, 000 for a Grade B
Court.
If the order of the local court is not obeyed, the court can enforce it by
committing the person disobeying the order to prison for contempt.
Unfortunately the local court has no power of effecting other means of
enforcing the judgement.
In this case therefore, if you want the order to be enforced by seizure or
charging of property, or income or other means you will have to apply to the
Subordinate court. If you need any assistance in respect of this matter you
can contact our Kabwe office.
Mutanda
P/Officer Threatens To Use Witchcraft To Kill Another
Dear Advisor
On
May 27, 2002 I went to Mutanda Police Station where I found a junior officer
threatening his senior that he was going to kill him. The senior man tried
to reason with him but he continued threatening him in the presence of the
Officer In Charge and the Station Inspector. The officer in charge could not
advise the officer instead he was just looking at him.
The same officer further said that he has good friends who stay at St
Dorothy area who know how to kill using charms. I am appealing to the high
command in Solwezi to look into the issue since the Officer In Charge of
Mutanda police seemed not to be able to protect the officer. Its dangerous
to utter such words as a police officer. Such an officer should be
disciplined.
Your concerned villager
JT.
Dear
JT,
Under the Witchcraft Act it is a criminal offence for one to profess
knowledge of Witchcraft or profess to be capable of causing illness or death
through witchcraft or unnatural means.
In this case therefore I would advise that a police officer should lodge a
complaint at Mutanda police station or if they cannot act, with the
provincial commanding officer in order that a docket may be opened and
prosecution effected.
13
Workers Dismissed From Lodge
Dear Sir,
On 15th November 2001, the Manchincbi Bay Lodge Manager informed the Union
workers over the Service charge including the October salary that when Mrs
Mwiinga, the Managing Director, came from Lusaka she would bring both our
Service Charge and October salary on the 17th November, 2001, so be patient
he said.
For sure on 17th November, the Managing Director came from Lusaka and on the
same day in the evening the Managing Director left for Lusaka.
On the 18th November, 2001 the 15 workers (Unionised) who reported for work
in the morning, decided to talk to the Lodge Manager and ask her about the
Service Charge and salary.
As workers we decided to stay inside the Lodge at the gate, waiting for the
Lodge Manager to enter her office. We wanted her to explain to the hungry
workers over the six (6) months none payment of the Service charge and
October pay. It was not a Protest as the Lodge Manager later put it.
Our aim was not to harass or beat up anyone who could enter the Lodge as the
Manager stated it in her letter in the 4th Paragraph dated 19th November
2001.
Our main concern was to exercise our rights to ask for our money - Service
charge and the pay we worked for.
If we had protested illegally, the Police could have been informed and gone
to the Lodge and controlled the situation, but the Police had no idea of
such Protest.
After the Lodge Manager told the workers that the money was going to be
ready by next week, we as obedient workers kept her words and went to work
in our different departments.
To our surprise on 15th April 2002, 13 of us received Summary Dismissal
letters leaving only 2 workers, and another surprise was that six months had
passed since the incident of asking for the none payment of Service charge.
How come the summary letters were given to us after six months had passed?
And after we had gone back for work and the Service charge paid to us and
everything forgotten.
The Hotel Catering Workers Union Of Zambia collective agreement says on
giving a worker a summary dismissal letter, that unless a worker has stolen
company property that is when a worker loses his/her benefits. We never
stole, we never damaged any company property. Even up to now we haven't been
paid our 5 months Service charge which we worked for from January, 2002 to
May, 2002. The remaining workers are afraid of asking for their 5 months
Service charge lest they get fired.
The aim of the Manchinchi Bay Lodge Management is that, we as workers lose
our benefits because many of us have served many years at the company.
Dear
Whoever,
In terms of the Employment Act, an employer cannot dismiss an employee on
grounds relating to discipline without giving such an employee an
opportunity to exculpate himself. Therefore if you were not given an
opportunity to explain yourselves as it seems, then the dismissal is
unlawful and can be challenged in Court.
Furthermore, even if the dismissal is lawful in that the procedure as
provided by the law was followed, the employee does not loose accrued
benefits unless the same have been directed towards liquidating his
liabilities to the company. In your case accrued benefits are the leave days
and services charges.
If you need any assistance get in touch with our Legal Advice Centre nearest
to you. We are in all the 9 provinces of Zambia.
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