A CLEANER at a motel in Mushili has been awarded K1,500 compensation after her boss allegedly insulted her in front of customers and fellow workers, telling her that her pants were oversized like diapers and that she smelled of adultery.

Ruth Ntokoshi dragged Micheal Mwape, one of the four directors at the motel, to the Kabushi Local Court, accusing him of repeatedly insulting her and attempting to dismiss her without following the company’s procedures.

But Mwape denied insulting Ruth, claiming instead that she had reported for work drunk.

The matter was heard before Magistrates John Kabwe and Paul Kayula.

In her testimony, Ruth, who had worked at the motel for one year and five months, told the court that her problems began on October 3 when Mwape allegedly insulted her and other employees in front of customers.

She said Mwape became angry after she reported his behaviour to the other directors and attempted to dismiss her without their approval.

“This is my boss. I have worked for him for one year and five months. My employer liked me as a person, and I was doing my work properly. I have four bosses who are related, including Mr Micheal. I work as a cleaner at a motel in Mushili. I had a problem on October 3, and I went to talk to my other boss about it. While I was still at the motel, Mr Micheal came and insulted me together with my colleagues without any reason. When I asked him why he was insulting me, he said that he was insulting the people in the vehicle and not me. There were customers in the vehicle who were leaving the place after they complained about my boss’s insults. After I reported that incident to the other directors, he got angry and fired me. On October 4, I went back to work, and he told me that hunger was bad because, despite firing me, I had still gone back to work. He took me to the other directors and told them that he had fired me on his own. I then went to Mushili Police Post, and they told me to take the matter to court because Micheal’s record was full at the police station from previous complaints,” Ruth testified.

She further told the court that her boss tried to bribe her to withdraw the case and insulted her using very hurtful words.

“Then he told someone that he had a K400 and that we should agree that I should get the money and cancel the court case. He also told me that my pants are oversized like diapers and that I smell of adultery. Those are very painful insults for a woman like me. That is why I have brought him to court. I want compensation for the insults because he has damaged my reputation,” said Ruth.

Her witness, Patricia Mwansa, a receptionist at the same motel, supported her claims.

“It was on October 3. I was on shift at the motel. Then Ruth told me to escort her to the gate, and I did. When she reached the gate, she said she had forgotten her lotion in the room, and she went to get it. Then three customers approached me because I work at the reception. They said that they were tired of hearing insults from Micheal every time they came to lodge. Micheal then came and started insulting again. It became even worse, and he was insulting people at the top of his voice without respect. That’s how I stopped escorting Ruth and went back to my duty post. But the following day, I heard that he had continued insulting Ruth even after I left. He is always drunk at work, and that is when he insults people the most,” said Patricia.

However, Micheal denied everything and said Ruth was the one who had reported for work drunk.

“On October 3, I went to work around 07:00 hours because my sister stays there, but there were no keys to the office, so I had to wait at the bar area. Ruth came drunk and explained to me that she had a problem and was not working that day. When I came back around 19:00 hours, I found Ruth and Patricia drunk together with other customers at the motel. Then I stopped them because it wasn’t allowed to drink at work. I did not insult her or anyone at the motel. I am denying the allegation completely,” said Micheal.

The court then adjourned the case and ordered the other directors of the motel to appear.

During the second hearing, the other directors, who are Micheal’s siblings, testified and told the court that Micheal was troublesome and that his decision to fire Ruth had not been approved by the company.

They testified that they had not found Ruth guilty of any wrongdoing and that Micheal had failed to give a convincing reason for firing her.

“We didn’t find Ruth guilty because she was fine. She was not drunk at the bar. Even if she was, it was after working hours; she had already knocked off. We sat down with our brother Micheal to ask him why he fired Ruth, but he did not give a convincing reason. We make decisions as all four of us, and he was coming to work drunk. He is troublesome,” his brother said.

Magistrate Kabwe then addressed the directors and told them that they had the right to remove Micheal from his position if he continued misbehaving and that they should discipline him as a family.

“You are directors as a family, and you should respect each other, including your employees. As for the discipline you will give Micheal, if he insults his employees again, you will take the matter to the Industrial Relations Court. Put your house in order. You have the right to remove him from his position as directors,” the court said.

The court then found that Micheal had a case to answer and asked the directors to come up with an amount to compensate Ruth as a company, rather than Micheal alone.

The directors discussed the matter and offered K1,500 on behalf of the company to compensate Ruth for the insults made by their fellow director.

Magistrate Kabwe agreed that K1,500 was a fair amount for the insults and ordered the company to pay Ruth K1,500.

The court has since closed the matter after ordering the motel, through its directors, to compensate its cleaner K1,500 for the insults.

The directors also confirmed that Ruth was still employed at the motel and that Micheal’s decision to fire her had not been approved by the company.