‘Alpheous should present himself at Public Service’

MBABANE – The odds are that Alpheous Nxumalo will not receive his salary when civil servants get paid for December.

Instead of an agreement on the payment of Nxumalo’s salary, government yesterday said he needs to present himself today to the Ministry of Public Service to be shown his workstation.

Nxumalo, who has a new three-year contract as government spokesperson, but is yet to resume his duties, took government to court to demand payment of a salary for the months of October and November 2025. The parties began negotiations and told the court last Friday that they had reached some form of an agreement. Judge Abande Dlamini ordered the parties to bring a signed agreement yesterday to be made an order of court. However, no such agreement was presented to the court.

Government representatives told the court that he had never been to work and he should report to the director of the Management Services Division, under the Ministry of Public Service, as soon as possible to be given a workstation. Judge Dlamini said government should have been the one that called Nxumalo to work, instead of expecting him to just show up. Government has still not filed an answering affidavit in this matter.

Lawyer Khumbulani Msibi, who represents Nxumalo, said government was not willing to pay him his salary. The parties told the court that from the negotiations that had taken place, there was no agreement as to the payment of Nxumalo’s salary. This aspect – non-payment of his salary – of the negotiations will be argued on January 7, 2026.

In his filed papers, Nxumalo of Manzini states that he is employed by the Eswatini Government under a three-year fixed term contract, which was signed on September 15 and he was scheduled to commence on October 1.

He alleges in his papers that after duly signing his written contract with the CSC, he was eager to resume work on October 1 and availed himself to do so.

However, he said he subsequently learnt that he had been placed under some form of suspension and prevented from taking up his post.

His main grievance is that government reportedly placed him on unpaid suspension without affording him any form of hearing prior to taking the allegedly prejudicial decision. He stated that had he been heard, he would have presented his side of the story, including arguing whether the suspension ought to be with or without pay.

Nxumalo characterised this action as government going ahead and unilaterally placing him on unpaid suspension without any form of prior hearing, a decision he alleged was grossly unlawful under the prevailing law of Eswatini and heavily frowned upon by our courts.

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… escalates SODV Act constitutionality challenge

MBABANE – Alpheous Nxumalo has taken his challenge of the SODV Act to the Supreme Court.

The appeal comes after Nxumalo’s application, in which he challenged the constitutionality of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act 15/2018, was dismissed by a full bench last Wednesday. The bench comprised Judge Mumcy Dlamini, sitting with Judge Zonke Magagula and Judge Bongani Dlamini.

The appeal alleges failure to address the constitutional question: Whether the SODV Act complies with Section 115 of the Constitution regarding its manner and form of promulgation. Nxumalo alleges that the High Court abdicated the real constitutional question by dismissing his application.

He argued that the High Court’s finding that he lacked locus standi in judicio (legal standing) to challenge the statute’s legality was an error. He emphasised that he had attached criminal charges framed under the very same SODV Act, with a trial pending before Manzini Principal Magistrate David Khumalo.

He stated that facing a possible jail term under the legislation provides a peculiar and substantial interest to challenge its validity and that the High Court allegedly misunderstands the concept of locus standi in judicio.

The appeal questions who, if not an accused person, can challenge a statute’s legality, particularly if they face prosecution under it.

Furthermore, Nxumalo argued that Section 2(2) of the Constitution, which states that citizens have the right and duty at all times to uphold and defend it, should grant legal standing to any liSwati to challenge unconstitutional acts without needing to establish a peculiar interest.

*Full article available in our publication