The Industrial Relations Court sitting in Lilongwe has ordered the Ministry of Agriculture to reintroduce Vincent Wandala on payroll with half pay and pay all his salary arrears within 30 days.
Wandale, leader of the People’s Land Organisation (PLO) has been fighting for land rights for indigenous people of Thyolo, Mulanje and Chiradzulu.
He got into bad books with the previous DPP government when he tried to force government to act on his organization’s plea for land through attempts to declare Thyolo and Mulanje a sovereign state.
Following several arrests, Wandale then working as Chief of Agriculture Extension in the Ministry, was interdicted, declared mentally unfit to work and subsequently removed from payroll.
In his judgement, Assistant Registrar of the Industrial Relations Court, Howard Pemba said the other process of retiring Wandale on medical grounds, as per his request, should proceed and be completed within 90 days.
“If nothing happens after the expiry of the said days, the matter shall come back before the court for hearing,” reads the judgment in part.
The court further ordered the Ministry to comply with the Malawi Public Service Regulations relating to retirement of an employee based on medical grounds.
“If the applicant is serious that he is ready to retire on that ground as he indicated in the statement of issue, then he should also subject himself towards compliance with the said regulations,” it reads.
