Muzi Mahlambi, a representative of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, and his spouse, Metu Mahlambi, the Umhlazi district director, issued a joint statement to apologize for a controversial video circulating on social media.
Muzi Mahlambi, a representative of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, and his spouse, Metu Mahlambi, the Umhlazi district director, issued a joint statement to apologize for a controversial video circulating on social media.
The video, which captured an extremely tense family conflict, features the spouse leveling serious accusations against the education representative, including claims of infidelity and alleged selling of teaching positions.
In their joint statement, the couple clarified that the recording is four years old and was made during a private marital dispute. They expressed deep regret that this 'extremely emotional moment' ended up in the public sphere.
Responding to specific claims made during the argument, the couple emphasized that these accusations are untrue. The statement reads: 'We want to clarify that many of the accusations and remarks made in the heat of that argument were emotional expressions born out of pain, disappointment, and anger, and not factual representations.'
As public figures, the Mahlambis acknowledged the significance of their words and apologized to the public who may have been affected or disappointed by the video's content. They insisted that statements made in anger created perceptions that 'do not reflect reality.'
The couple reported overcoming personal difficulties through 'honesty, forgiveness, and commitment,' stating that they remain together and have become 'stronger and more united than before.' Concluding the statement, they urged the public to refrain from jumping to conclusions about their lives or character based on a single incident from years ago, and requested privacy as they move forward as a family.
Despite the couple's clarifications and apologies, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has yet to issue an official statement regarding the controversial video or the related allegations, leaving many questions unanswered in the public domain.
A former teacher from KwaZulu-Natal, Kalivan Govender, was unable to secure payment of her due salary of 40,000 rand, as well as a birthday bonus. This occurred after the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) ruled that her dismissal, which was processed due to the submission of forged qualification documents, legally terminated her employment relationship.
The case began with a disciplinary hearing in January 2025, which found Govender guilty of a serious offense—submitting a fake qualification certificate. In an attempt to overturn this decision, Govender filed an appeal with the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education Minister's office (MEC). This appeal request was rejected in January 2026, officially confirming her dismissal.
However, due to a communication failure between the MEC's office and the department's human resources division, the regional office in Pinetown never received notification of the appeal results. Consequently, Govender continued to work and received full pay for January, February, and March 2026, despite her dismissal being confirmed.
The situation was identified by Musavenkosi Dlamini, an investigator in the department's fraud and ethics unit. Upon discovering the error, Dlamini ordered in April 2026 to freeze Govender's profile at the Pinetown branch and immediately cease any further salary payments.
When the scheduled payday of April 15, 2026, arrived, Govender did not receive her funds. The next day, she left the school and did not return. She then approached the ELRC with a claim alleging a breach of labour law, demanding payment for April's salary and a birthday bonus.
During the arbitration, Govender claimed she only learned about the failure of her appeal in June 2026. She insisted that since she continued working until mid-April, she was entitled to payment for services rendered. Furthermore, she pointed out that receiving official electronic payslips confirmed her status as a departmental employee.
The department, on the other hand, argued that payments made after the dismissal was confirmed were a result of administrative error. It also stated that it had already initiated the process to recover the amounts erroneously paid to Govender for February and March 2026.
In its ruling, Commissioner Shezi accepted the department's explanation that the continuation of payments was solely due to the untimely execution of the appeal decision. She determined that Govender's employment relationship legally ended at the moment the MEC confirmed her dismissal, meaning there was no legal basis for her to continue working or receiving remuneration. The Commissioner also ruled that the department acted lawfully by stopping payments as soon as the finality of the dismissal became known.
Ultimately, the ELRC concluded that Govender failed to prove that the department violated labour law by withholding her April 2026 salary, and completely dismissed her application.
The attempt by a former teacher from KwaZulu-Natal to secure unpaid wages ended unsuccessfully after it was established that she no longer had the right to remuneration, as her dismissal was confirmed on appeal.
The Commissioner of the Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC), Nolundi Shezi, dismissed a claim of unfair labour practice filed by Kalivan Govender against the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education. The Commissioner ruled that she lacked a legal right to receive a salary following the official termination of her employment contract.
The roots of the disagreement trace back to January 2025, when the department dismissed Govender following a disciplinary hearing. The hearing found her guilty of a serious misconduct related to providing a forged qualification certificate. Govender attempted to overturn this decision by lodging a formal appeal with the office of the Minister of Education of KwaZulu-Natal (MEC).
However, the MEC rejected Govender's appeal and upheld her dismissal in January 2026. Due to a communication failure between the MEC's office and the provincial department's human resources division, the Pinetown district never received notification of the final decision. Despite the dismissal, Govender continued to report to work and received full pay for January, February, and March 2026.
The department's administrative oversight suddenly halted when Musavencosi Dlamini, an internal investigator for the department's fraud and ethics unit, intercepted the MEC's order from January. Discovering a documentation error, Dlamini issued an urgent directive in April 2026 to the Pinetown district to freeze Govender's profile and immediately cease processing any further state funds. Consequently, when the standard payday in the province arrived on April 15, 2026, Govender received no payments. The next day, she left the school and did not return, later filing a claim with the ELRC for unfair labour practice and demanding April's remuneration along with a birthday bonus.
During the hearing, Govender argued that she only learned of her appeal's failure in June 2026, insisting that she deserved compensation for providing direct service to the school until mid-April. She also pointed out that receiving official digital payslips proved her continuous employment. Nevertheless, the department countered, asserting that the earnings after dismissal were solely the result of a standard administrative error, and confirmed that internal mechanisms were already in place to recover and reimburse the erroneously paid salaries for February and March.
In its final analysis of the evidence, Commissioner Shezi accepted the department's explanation that the payments for February and March resulted from administrative oversight after the appeal outcome was not promptly implemented. Since Govender's employment relationship had already been terminated upon confirmation of her dismissal, the Commissioner concluded that she had no legal right to continue providing services or receiving remuneration. Commissioner Shezi found that the department had a valid reason to stop payments once the finality of her dismissal became known. Ultimately, the ELRC ruled that Govender failed to prove that the department committed unfair labour practice by withholding her April 2026 salary, and completely dismissed her application.
