A teacher who was rehired by the Gauteng Department of Education after abruptly resigning before he could face a disciplinary hearing for alleged sexual harassment has been fired again – this time for ‘hugging’ a 16-year-old girl at his new school.

The Sunday Times reports that the reappointment of David Diholo at Forest High in Johannesburg in 2016, two years after he had been fired as a deputy principal at Senaoane Secondary in Soweto, has been slammed by NGOs.

Labour Court judge Edwin Tlhotlhalemaje dismissed Diholo’s application to set aside an arbitration award handed down in May 2019 that terminated his services at Forest High after he was found guilty of sexually harassing the grade nine pupil.

Department spokesperson Steve Mabona said the department had asked the SA Council for Educators to investigate an allegation of sexual harassment against Diholo.

He said no official faced any consequences for appointing him at Forest High because ‘no offence was committed’.

But Tlhotlhalemaje said ‘it was readily conceded on behalf of the department that these monumental lapses on its part were as a result of the lack of due diligence in its recruitment processes, especially within an education environment’.

Full Sunday Times report