Legal Head with Criminal Past Stirs Controversy in Free State Education

The Free State Department of Education is embroiled in a controversial situation as its head of legal services, Bafana Cecil Ngwenya, has a tarnished history that contradicts the requirements of his position. This development comes at a critical time when South Africa's educational systems are under intense scrutiny, with matric results recently released and schools reopening after holiday breaks.

Ngwenya, whose criminal record encompasses theft and defeating the ends of justice, initially took his fight to court for admission as an advocate. However, the South Gauteng High Court struck down his appeal, labeling him as "unfit" due to his past convictions and declaring him not a "fit and proper" person for advocacy.

Despite this, Ngwenya ascended to the role of head of legal services during the late Tate Makgoe's tenure as the Free State Education MEC. When Makalo Mohale stepped into the role last year, the question of Ngwenya's appointment remained unresolved. An insider, familiar with Ngwenya’s journey and the department's litigation track record, flagged concerns about his capability, pointing to a series of lost cases as evidence of inadequate leadership.

Free State education activists, whose identities are withheld for confidentiality, escalated the issue to the Presidency, only to find the complaint looped back through a bureaucratic cycle without resolution. Refilwe Makgopa from the Presidency passed the buck to the national Department of Basic Education, where it was subsequently tossed over to labour relations without any direct address to the grievance.

Persistent efforts by The Citizen to obtain comments from relevant spokespersons, Howard Ndaba and Sello Dithebe, have thus far met with silence, signaling either a lack of concern or the inability to address the matter publicly.

The backdrop to this quandary is Ngwenya's history. His conviction dates back to 2000, involving two theft cases during his time as an acting prosecutor and an additional count of defeating the ends of justice. Although serving a truncated sentence with eventual correctional supervision, his legal career aspirations were derailed when both Johannesburg and Pretoria bar councils denied his advocacy on account of his criminal record.

Ngwenya's determination to resume a legal career saw him pursue an LLB degree upgrade post-community service, followed by a pupilage at the Johannesburg Bar. Yet, even academic progression couldn't erase his stained legal record, leaving his integrity in question within his current role overseeing legal matters for an educational department.

This situation raises broader issues about accountability and transparency in government hiring practices, especially in departments that champion the future of a nation's youth. It begs the question of how individuals with such backgrounds come into positions of power and why oversight mechanisms fail to prevent or correct such occurrences.