Air Zimbabwe (UM, Harare International) has reinstated former acting managing director, Grace Pfumbidzayi, after a Zimbabwean labour arbitration tribunal ruled her dismissal to be procedural.
“In view of the facts and arguments, I award the following: The claimant was unfairly dismissed and should, therefore, be reinstated from date of unfair dismissal without loss of salary and benefits," arbitrator T Zimbudzana ruled. “The matter is remitted to the respondent (Air Zimbabwe) for the procedural irregularities to be put right.”
Air Zimbabwe sacked Pfumbidzayi in February 2014 on charges of corruption and maladministration after a forensic audit revealed she had played a "pivotal role" in an aviation insurance fraud scandal which milked the moribund carrier of over USD10 million between 2009 and 2013.
The arbitrator's ruling, however, is moot given that Pfumbidzayi is currently serving an effective seven-year jail sentence for her role in the scandal alongside former CEO Peter Chikumba who was also convicted.
