A supervisor in the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) has been granted a five-year protection order against Mncedisi Makuyi, the former spokesperson of the MK Party in the Uthukela region and an employee of the same department.

The order in favour of Mzwandile Hadebe, a work supervisor to Makuyi, was granted today, 11 March 2025, by the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate Court in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. 

It was after Hadebe first obtained interim orders from the Pietermaritzburg magistrate court on November 20, 2024, and another one in December last year barring Makuyi from communicating with him in any “unwarranted manner” that is not work-related.

“[The] Respondent must not communicate with [the] complainant unless the communication is to receive work instruction or to report thereon,” reads the new court order. 

However, the court turned down Hadebe’s application for an order to prohibit Makuyi from sending him any message, even if it was work-related. It also rejected his request for an order to stop the MKP member from communicating with him using the department’s WhatsApp group. 

Radebe accused Makuyi of harassing and threatening him because he claimed he got him fired from his plum job as the Deputy Director for Fire and Rescue Services last May.

He reports directly to Hadebe, the department director for disaster management.

After being sacked following an internal disciplinary hearing, Makuyi recently returned to his job as Deputy Director for Fire and Rescue Services. 

Makuyi used a legal provision to appeal his dismissal directly to Cogta MEC Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi. In his appeal letter, he argued that his dismissal had nothing to do with absenteeism as alleged because he took his sick and leave days.

In his submission to Buthelezi, Makuyi claimed his termination was politically motivated. He alleges that some department officials were purging staff members who had joined or were perceived to be sympathetic to the MK Party.