Supreme Court Upholds Dismissal of ZIMRA Officer Over P*rnographic Emails

The Supreme Court has upheld the dismissal of former Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) officer Stanford Sithole, who was accused of using his official email to share p*rnographic material.

Sithole’s appeal against his dismissal has been rejected, ending a long legal battle that started more than a decade ago.

The judgment, delivered by Justice Alfas Chitakunye, overturned earlier decisions by the Labour Court and the National Employment Council, which had previously ruled in Sithole’s favour.

Justice Chitakunye said there was clear evidence that the offensive emails were sent from Sithole’s account, and his claims that his email had been hacked were only “speculation.”

The case began in 2010, when ZIMRA’s ICT department discovered that some employees were using company emails to share pornographic content, which was slowing down the system. Investigations linked 13 inappropriate emails to Sithole’s account.

He was suspended in January 2011 and denied the accusations, saying ZIMRA had fabricated evidence to silence him because of his union activities.

The Labour Court had initially agreed with him, saying ZIMRA had not proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. But the Supreme Court disagreed, explaining that labour disputes require proof based on “a balance of probabilities,” not criminal-level certainty.

Justice Chitakunye ruled that ZIMRA had provided enough evidence to show its version of events was the most likely one. He also dismissed claims of victimisation, noting that other employees had been fired for the same offence.

The court reinstated Sithole’s dismissal from the original suspension date and ordered him to pay the legal costs.

The ruling sends a clear message about responsible use of corporate email systems and reminds employees that they are accountable for their online activities.

As Justice Chitakunye concluded:

“The employer only needs to show that its version of events is more probable than the employee’s.”