Former University of Botswana Student Representative Council President, Khumoekae Richard is crying foul over the termination of his contract by his employer, Francistown College of Technical and Vocational Education (FCTVE). He says he expects his lawyer Mboki Chilisa to have filed a case challenging the decision. Richard worked at the institution as a Biology Lecturer and he believes that the book he authored, ‘Scandalous Murdering of Democracy’, could be behind the termination of his employment. The book attacks President Ian Khama and his inner circle. According to Richard, he was told that the contract was terminated due to lack of funds and that approval for the course he was offering was taking too long. Speaking to The Botswana Gazette, Richard said he believes termination of his contract was not procedural as it lacked substantial reasons. He argued that reasons advanced to him were insufficient to cost him his job, and also that if it was true that the course he was offering was not approved, then the other lecturers working in the same department would have lost their jobs as well. This publication is in possession of a copy of Richard’s letter of termination dated 09 October, 2014 which he said he only got on 6 November. The termination letter from Director Regional Operations in the North East Region, Oupa Masesane states no reasons for the termination; it only states that he would serve a notice from 13 October to 12 November. According to Richard, he was caught by surprise when he was called to a meeting on 17 September where he was told that his contract would end on the last day of October. He said upon realising the anomaly emanating from the principal’s reluctance to serve him with a letter of termination like he promised, on 6 October he wrote a letter complaining about the school keeping him in the dark about the termination of his contract, and also asking the principal to give him the letter or justify the status quo; that never happened. He wrote another letter on 4 November demanding that he be given his termination letter following tip off that other FCTVE employees were given theirs. Richard said upon making inquiries, he was told that his letter had been sent through the post office but to his surprise, it never arrived. Richard said he was surprised when he was furnished with the original letter dated 9 October, 2014, which was said to have been sent through the post office. According to him, his letter was kept away from him until he finished serving his notice so that he could not exercise his rights to challenge the termination. Efforts to get a comment from Masesane proved futile as he was reportedly on a trip.
Richard to Sue FCTVE For Contract Termination
