AGE OF ACCOUNTABILITY: Another blow to Tolashe’s legacy as sacked spokesperson wins R1.5m and job back

{JSON.stringify(article.attachments[0], null, 2)} --> The Department of Social Development has been ordered to reinstate former communications chief Lumka Oliphant, dismissed during Sisisi Tolashe’s tenure as minister, and pay her more than R1.53m in backpay.

The Public Health and Social Development Sectoral Bargaining Council has ruled that the dismissal of former Department of Social Development (DSD) chief director of communications Lumka Oliphant in October 2025 was “procedurally and substantively unfair”.

Arbitrator Suria van Wyk found that the department had failed to prove any of the five misconduct charges for which Oliphant was dismissed, and had circumvented its own disciplinary procedures.

The DSD has now been ordered to pay Oliphant R1,535.516.04 – the equivalent of 12 months’ backpay – in two instalments, with Oliphant due to report back to work in her old post on 1 November 2026.

Asked by Daily Maverick for comment on Tuesday, Oliphant responded with a social media post in which she thanked supporters and wrote: “I thought I’d be ready for this day, but I am not.”

The ruling, handed down on 17 October, is the latest consequence of the turmoil at the Department of Social Development (DSD) under former minister Sisisi Tolashe, who was fired by President Cyril Ramaphosa in May following months of Daily Maverick investigations.

The findings directly contradict a statement issued by the DSD on 30 April, in which Tolashe termed Oliphant a “disgruntled former official” and insisted that she had been dismissed “following due process” after allegations of financial and administrative misconduct.

Oliphant’s reinstatement is likely to present a headache for Tolashe’s successor, Minister Dina Pule, because former KwaZulu-Natal South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) spokesperson Sandy Godlwana was appointed to Oliphant’s position in a permanent capacity in May.

The Mail & Guardian reported in July that the DSD had spent R670,590.50 on hotel accommodation for Godlwana while she was acting in the position between October 2025 and May 2026 prior to receiving permanent tenure.

Godlwana did not respond to Daily Maverick’s request for comment on Tuesday.

Oliphant was suspended on 1 September 2025, shortly after a Sunday Times exposé of a R3-million trip to the UN in New York taken by department officials in March 2025.

Oliphant maintained that she was targeted because Tolashe suspected her of leaking information about the trip, while the DSD said her suspension concerned alleged mismanagement of government programmes.

The arbitrator did not determine whether Oliphant was victimised for suspected whistleblowing.

The ruling records that after her suspension, Oliphant gave interviews and posted on social media criticising Tolashe and departmental leadership. The DSD claimed that Oliphant had “intimidated, and continued to intimidate, the Minister by inviting her to a boxing or fighting ring”.