Newly axed department of social development chief of staff Zanele Simmons is heading to the Labour Court to get her job back and have her bosses held personally liable for the costs of the action.
Simmons, who was fired with immediate effect in an email notification she received on October 3, asked social development minister Sisisi Tolashe and director-general Peter Netshipale to withdraw the suspension notice she was issued with on September 29 as well as the termination - said to be the result of a breakdown in the trust relationship between her and Tolashe - served on Friday.
In her notice of motion served in the Labour Court last week, Simmons seeks urgent interdictory relief against the department and its officials regarding her employment termination.
Simmons was employed as the DSD’s chief of staff until she was seconded to the National Development Agency on August 25.
Little more than a month later, on September 29, she was suspended along with 22-year-old Lesedi Mabiletja, the woman appointed in her place as the DSD’s chief of staff. Simmons was accused of using the minister’s electronic signature without permission and of falsifying Mabiletja’s CV.
Mabiletja, who was not qualified for the post and was suspended on full pay alongside Simmons before swiftly being removed from her post and appointed instead as Tolashe’s personal assistant, is the niece of Tolashe’s special adviser Ngwako Kgatla.
A day after the suspensions, the department issued a public statement explaining the reasons.
“The allegations of dishonesty and misrepresentation against the chief of staff and the personal assistant are too serious to ignore,” Netshipale said in the statement. “They undermine our effort to build an ethical and capable state.”
But on September 3, while she was still preparing to defend her suspension, Simmons was summarily dismissed. She claims the termination letter was issued without due process.
Now she has asked the Labour Court to hear her matter urgently on October 14, and the relief she is seeking includes the retraction of the termination letter and a court order that she return to her job.
One of the allegations against Simmons in her suspension notice is that she made unauthorised use of the Tolashe’s digital signature to sign Netshipale’s employment contract. Simmons claims she was authorised to do so, as she had done on numerous previous occasions on other employment contracts, providing a list of occasions when this had happened.
The allegation that she had falsified Mabiletja’s CV, she told the court, was “absurd” as she had received the CV directly from Kgatla and had merely acted as a conduit, passing it on to HR.
Her application is based on the Labour Relations Act and the Senior Management Service Handbook, which under the act allow for urgent interim relief and interdicts.
The handbook outlines procedures for misconduct and incapacity and states that fair reasons for dismissal must be based on fair procedures as per the Code of Good Practice.
Simmons has provided the context regarding her employment and the events leading up to her suspension and termination. She explains that she reports directly to the minister and her employment is linked to the minister’s term. Her precautionary suspension had been based on allegations of misconduct.
The termination letter served just a few days later, however, cited a breakdown in the trust relationship without a specified effective date.
Referring to the process of the appointment of DG Netshipale, Simmons said Tolashe had submitted a request for him to be appointed, and this had been approved by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The appointment was initially for five years but was later limited to one year by cabinet because Netshipale is 64.
Simmons argues that she acted with Tolashe’s authorisation throughout the process, highlighting discrepancies between the minister’s public statements and the allegations against her ― publicly acknowledging Netshipale’s appointment in budget speeches.
However, conflict arose when questions were asked about Netshipale’s contract duration, as it began to appear that despite cabinet limiting the duration to one year, it had been signed for five. Simmons claims that the allegations that she made improper use of Tolashe’s signature to do this were simply an attempt to scapegoat her for the minister’s decision to defy parliament.
An internal memo sent out to DSD staff on Tuesday afternoon, seen by TimesLIVE Premium, informs them that Netshipale’s contract term had been adjusted in line with cabinet instructions, and he would be leaving office in March 2026.
In addressing the allegation of falsifying Mabiletja’s CV, Simmons denies any involvement. She said a memorandum had been sent to Tolashe indicating that Mabiletja did not meet the qualifications for the position, but Tolashe had ignored it.
Simmons told the court she was not given a chance to defend herself before she was terminated, and saw this as a strategy to block her disciplinary hearing and silence her.
She said there was therefore an urgent need for legal intervention to address her wrongful termination and suspension, adding that it had caused her “significant personal and financial harm”, highlighting the potential loss of medical aid and the impact on her four children who depend on her salary.
The matter was urgent as she risked losing her home and car.
Simmons told the court she believes she had the right to fair treatment and her dismissal was unfair and should therefore be regarded as unlawful.
She believed she was being blamed for decisions taken by officials above her level, with Tolashe and Netshipale trying to shift the blame onto her for their own decisions. She asked the court to declare her termination as unlawful and reverse it.
She further asked for punitive costs against Tolashe and Netshipale for what she alleges to be their bad faith actions.
DSD spokesperson Sandy Godlwana, when asked for a response to Simmons’ claims, said: “DSD management discussed this matter and agreed that for now while it is before the courts, it is not possible to provide information.”
She added: “We understand the public interest in this matter and are committed to transparency and will issue a media statement once all legal processes have been finalised. The matter will be heard in court on October 14.”
The ongoing disruptions and upheavals within DSD have been deeply upsetting to social workers, activists and caregivers around the country who are heavily dependent on the department doing its job.
The Gauteng Crisis Coalition social media group has been following the recent reports on lavish spending, irregular high-level staff appointments and suspensions and terminations.
One disheartened member, commenting anonymously, stated: “I have no words to describe how I felt after reading this article. I have spent a lifetime in this profession, but over the last few years I feel that I (we) have suffered abysmal treatment from a government that should be supporting the work that we do.
“Those of us on this group have years and years of collective experience, and yet we have to be subjected to what can only be described as adolescent behaviour from individuals that are clueless about our work and the field and the needs of our clients, and choose to play games with the money that should support us. It’s humiliating to each and every one of us.”
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