By PERPETUAL  SICHIKWENKWE  –
THE Lusaka High Court has dismissed an application by a former Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) assistant commissioner to draw salaries from the commission at the time when he was working and earning one in Ethiopia.
In delivering her judgment, Judge Florence Lengalenga dismissed Chongo Mukupa’s request for salaries, saying it lacked merit as he was not entitled to double payment in salaries or remuneration.
Mr Chongo wanted an order that he be paid all the salaries withheld when he was on secondment to Ethopia and later proceeded on unpaid leave to pursue his masters degree in New Zealand.
He was seeking damages for wrongful, unlawful and unfair termination of his contract, and wanted to be paid salaries and emoluments as he would have earned had the contract been allowed to run its course.
Ms Justice Lengalenga said by accepting the secondment to Ethopia and filling in forms for unpaid leave, Mr Chongo stopped earning salaries during the period when he was in Ethiopia.
She cited a phrase from the Supreme Court in the Chola Chama case and said there was no consideration to justify Mr Chongo being paid twice as that would amount to unjustly enriching him.
When he returned to Zambia, Mr Chongo reapplied for engagement but ZRA rejected that on grounds that things had since changed.
On termination of his employment, Ms justice Lengalenga, however, said Mr Chongo was unlawfully dismissed because he was not given notice of termination or an opportunity to be heard.
She said it was strange that his application to be re-engaged after his unpaid study leave was rejected on grounds that he did not honour the provisions of clause 10.14(c) of the Training and Development Manual which provides guidance on unpaid study leave.
She agreed with Mr Mukupa that he was wrongly, unlawfully and unfairly fired from ZRA because he was not given an opportunity to be heard and ordered ZRA to award him damages.
“Therefore, I find that the termination of the plaintiff’s contract of employment was wrong, unlawful and unfair and that the plaintiff is accordingly entitled to damages,” she said.