Miles Sampa wins dismissal case

THE Supreme Court has ruled in favour of former Finance Bank Zambia (FBZ) executive director of treasury and international banking Miles Sampa in a case in which he was wrongfully fired from the bank.
Mr Sampa said in a statement that he is happy that the court has now finally put closure on the public humiliation he suffered after being fired from Finance Bank by the Bank of Zambia (BoZ).
He said following the court’s judgement, BoZ has since paid him K578, 000 as compensation for wrongful dismissal.
“Apologies to critics that may opt to misunderstand this but I have to exhale to put closure on the public humiliation I suffered.  In 2010, I was fired by BoZ out of Finance Bank as executive director of treasury and international banking, a job I had held for over seven years and had been in the profession for over 13 years.
“No notice and no reason were ever given for the unprecedented hounding of a corporate employee with armed security men from within and from South Africa.  I was given 15 minutes to pack personal items in my office before being escorted out of the building,” Mr Sampa said.
He said it is sad that some state media were loud on his eviction from the bank without explaining what he had done wrong or saying that he had never been in the bank’s lending committee as was speculated.
“I sued both FBZ and BoZ in the Industrial Relations Court and won in 2011 with compensation pegged at six months salary and other allowances at 13 percent interest.  BoZ appealed to the Supreme Court and not on the merits of the case, but arguing on who should pay me between them and FBZ.
“Not at any time was the judge told what I had done wrong to warrant the inhuman dejection out of employment except that BoZ had powers to do so. The real reason was indeed political. The then BoZ and their masters did not like me because I was connected and was a strong supporter of the then opposition leader Michael Sata and the Patriotic Front,” Mr Sampa said.
He said despite having a legal unit, BoZ outsourced one of the most expensive law firms to ‘defend’ them in the matter but they lost.