An Eastern Cape police officer has been suspended from work and charged with misconduct for sporting a beard on duty, which is not allowed in terms of the SAPS dress code.
The suspension came on Tuesday, a day after Eastern Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga threw the rule book at crime intelligence officer Sergeant Simphiwo Grongqo, 45.
However Police, Prisons and Civil Rights Union (Popcru) said Grongqo’s religion forbids him from shaving. The union has slammed the incident, with its Eastern Cape secretary Zamikhaya Skade saying: “We view this as pure victimisation on the basis of religion and call on the employer to stop victimising members on the basis of their religious beliefs. We will use all means available to fight this victimisation”.
Grongqo, 44, has been an SAPS employee for 16 years, working at the Mdantsane police station’s crime analysis and information centre.Skade said Grongqo has worn his beard for the duration of his employment. In an e-mailed response to the Daily Dispatch yesterday, Ntshinga’s spokeswoman Colonel Sibongile Soci, said police members are granted special permission to wear beards only on “medical grounds” or for “operational requirements”.
“The employee or union is at liberty to exhaust all available remedies before an appropriate forum if aggrieved by the refusal of the application. The SAPS wishes to place on record that the employee currently has no authority to wear a beard and is disobeying a lawful instruction”.
The Daily Dispatch has in its possession a copy of a letter dated July 2 2018 written by Ntshinga to Skade, where she re-affirms her April 20 2018 decision to decline Grongqo’s permission to wear a beard.
Ntshinga says in the letter police members are only allowed to wear a beard for a maximum of six months – only if they have a chronic skin condition. For other reasons, policemen are allowed to work unshaved for a maximum of three months, said Ntshinga.
Popcru argues in a letter to Ntshinga that Grongqo has been sporting a beard to work since 2006 and that when this was queried, he had applied for an exemption, which was approved by then Mdantsane police commander Colonel BJ Nkohla.
Ntshinga replied to this saying Nkohla did not have the authority to approve the move. “In accordance with the dress code, the authority to approve the wearing of a beard lies with the provincial commissioner and not Col Nkohla as his [Grongqo] immediate commander.”
Skade said Popcru’s application for Grongqo to be exempted from shaving, and who has been barred from the NU1 police station from June 28, has failed.“
Instead of addressing the matter they have started disciplinary process against the member,” said Skade...