SOCIAL WORKER WEEPS IN COURT, TRIAL ADJOURNED

MBABANE – The court had to be adjourned yesterday as the social worker, who accuses her supervisor of sexually harassing her, broke into tears during cross-examination.

*Sindi is accusing Moses Dlamini, who was the Social Welfare Director at the time, of allegedly sexually harassing her. The social welfare worker yesterday wept bitterly when being cross-examined by lawyer Ben J Simelane, who is representing Dlamini in the matter. She lost her cool when Simelane raised his concerns about the selective nature in her allegedly choosing what to remember pertaining to the events, which led to the arrest of his client. She told the court that she was flustered before breaking into tears. “It’s too much; I have long been abused by this man. I do not want to run the risk of mixing up event since this has been happening for too long. There are too many people involved. I viewed my boss as an adult who had the responsibility of protecting me. He is not my favourite man that I can recall everything about him,” she said while fighting back tears.

Mbabane Principal Magistrate Fikile Nhlabatsi advised Sindi against allowing herself to be overcome with emotions. Nhlabatsi advised Sindi to know her pattern concerning the matter.
However, Sindi cried uncontrollably resulting in a 10-minute adjournment. Her relatives, who were present in court, rushed to the witness box and consoled her. Worth noting was that Sindi had on numerous occasions responded that she did not recall when Simelane posed a questions. The social worker, who accused her supervisor of sexually harassing her, has alleged that he used his powers to put her in strategic positions so that he could compromise her. Sindi told the court that Dlamini, who was Social Welfare Director at the time, incorporated her into social visits at hotels, so that he could allegedly harass her. She alleged that he would call her to his room or went to her room at night, each time they were at the hotels.

She made reference to an incident which she alleged happened at the Pigg’s Peak Hotel. She told the court that Dlamini came to her room at night, without being invited. She stated that she was uncomfortable about Dlamini’s entry into her room. Sindi stated that things got worse when Dlamini, who was relaxing on a sofa with his feet placed on her bed, allegedly removed his shoes. However, she stated that she could not communicate her discomfort to the director because she feared losing her job. She submitted that Dlamini’s slogan ‘what Moses wants, Moses gets it’ always rang in her ears each time she wanted to communicate her discomfort. “This was my boss who knew exactly how I felt. He intentionally imposed himself on me. I had seen some of my colleagues suffering the consequences of crossing his path,” she submitted.

She added that she could not tell Dlamini off because he was her reporting structure and that she was on a two-year probation. These are allegations whose veracity is still to be tested in court. During cross-examination, Simelane, who represents Dlamini in the matter, asked Sindi who opened the door before Dlamini entered her room at the hotel. Simelane asked Sindi who closed the door after Dlamini had entered her room.

Negative

In response, Sindi told the court that she opened the door but did not recall what happened afterwards. Asked if she recalled who were her neigbhours at the hotel, she responded to the negative, stating that all she knew was that her colleagues were booked at the same hotel. She also told the court that she did not recall if her colleagues were in their rooms at the time Dlamini entered her room. “I cannot recall exactly how long Dlamini spent in my room. What I recall is that it was not long,” she responded when asked. “While in your room, were you seated and what were you talking about?” asked Simelane.

The social worker responded that Dlamini followed her to the balcony, before she went back to her room. She told the court that she only recalled the discomfort from Dlamini’s visit; however, she stated that she did not tell him about it. Simelane referred Sindi to the evidence of Buyile, who recorded a statement with the police, to the effect that when she entered the former’s room, she found Dlamini seated on a sofa with his feet placed on the bed. Simelane went on to put it to Sindi that Buyile told the police that she asked the former what Dlamini was doing in her room. “In her statement, Buyile stated that you told her that he (Dlamini) was about to leave. She said from the look of things, she told you that it did not look like he was about to leave,” Simelane said.

He then put it to her that there was nothing stopping her from denying Dlamini entry into her room at night. Simelane told Sindi that she allowed Dlamini into her room because she was happy about his visit. In response, Sindi told the court that she was happy only if that was the lawyer’s description of happiness. She stated that according to her recollection, she shared with her colleagues how Dlamini’s unauthorised visit made her feel. She stated that she could not remember anything pertaining to their other events. Simelane further asked Sindi where she spent the night on the day in question; however, she was quick to state that she could not remember.

Uncomfortable

“Buyile told the police that she had offered to accommodate you should you feel uncomfortable in your room. She reported that she was expecting that you would come over and spend the night in her room but that never happened,” Simelane told Sindi. Sindi responded that she believed she spent the night in her room. She added, however, that she could not add on Buyile’s expectations. At Mhlambanyatsi, Sindi admitted during cross-examination she went to Dlamini’s room after she was called by the latter. She told the court that she discussed with Buyile that if she delayed, she should check on her to see if thing were still well. She denied having discussed with Buyile to bang the door as said by the lawyer. She stated that she could not distinguish whether Dlamini called her on work-related issues or social visit. She stated that the only thing she had to do was to heed the call, which was made after supper. “I put it to you that at Mhlambanyatsi, you proceeded to Dlamini’s room because you knew it was a social visit,” Simelane told Sindi. However, Sindi responded that Simelane’s assertion remained his own interpretation as it was not what transpired on the day in question.

While in Dlamini’s room, Sindi told the court that the accused offered her wine, before opening up that he was disappointed that she looked pregnant and had a ring on her finger. She stated that they also discussed about one Cebsile. She stated that she left Dlamini after noticing that it was not work-related. Sindi also  alleged in court that her supervisor transferred her for nine to 12 months without a government instrument in a space of 18 months. This, Sindi said, was because  Dlamini, who was the Director of Social Welfare at the time, wanted to frustrate her. When all the incidences happened, she told the court that she could not raise the alarm because she considered running away as her only defence mechanism. “I was not trapping my boss. He used to be a good man sometimes,” she said.

*Not real name to protect complainant.

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