News24 reports that axed constitutional development deputy director-general Dr Gabriella la Foy is suing the justice department for R9 million – after spending nearly five years of her almost seven-year term on suspension and facing repeated, largely repudiated, claims of wrongdoing.

La Foy claims she was subjected to unsubstantiated accusations of wrongdoing – later described as “an abuse of the grievance procedure” by the official who investigated them – within months of joining the department. When those complaints were unsuccessful, the department charged La Foy with misconduct and suspended her. She was eventually fired for, among other things, placing a justice department advertisement in a newspaper without the approval of the director-general, Doc Mashabane, not attending a meeting, recording Mashabane without his consent and including too many slides in a Cabinet presentation. The Public Service Commission this year substantiated La Foy’s claim against Mashabane of victimisation – while concluding that Justice Minister Ronald Lamola and Deputy Minister John Jeffrey had failed in their duty to create a safe working environment at the department.   Now, in litigation playing out in the Labour Court in Johannesburg, La Foy has accused the justice department of doing nothing to address the toxic dynamics of her work environment. The case will continue on Monday,

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Karyn Maughan at News24 (subscriber access only)

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