‘Baron won’t be bullied to quit’
Municipal spokesman turns to lawyer to block threat of possible disciplinary action
NELSON Mandela Bay municipal spokesman Kupido Baron will not be bullied into resigning and will defend any “stale” allegations levelled against him about an anti-DA social media post. In a letter to acting city boss Johann Mettler, Baron’s attorney, Grant Howard, has questioned the fairness of a threat to discipline Baron for a Facebook post shared on May 1 2014.
Baron, who is a known ANC member and a former branch secretary, shared a poster which depicted white security police chasing a black boy. The DA’s logo was on the poster along with the words “Miss the days when the black man knew his place? Vote DA. KKKnow your DA”.
He later removed the post from his profile.
Baron was summoned to Mettler’s office two weeks ago, where it is believed he was taken to task for his anti-DA social media posts in 2014 and given an ultimatum to either resign or face disciplinary action.
In Howard’s letter sent to Mettler on Tuesday, he bemoaned the fact that Baron had not been forewarned that the meeting would be about a disciplinary matter.
“You pressured our client to answer the question as to whether or not the present leadership of the [municipality] could be happy with him given that his responsibility, according to you, is to make the municipality and its leadership look good,” he wrote.
“You pressured our client to answer the further question as to whether or not he felt the municipal council could trust him.”
Howard said the municipality had elected not to discipline Baron at the time and it was thus unfair to now drag up the matter more than 2½ years later.
He said that regardless of the regime change in the corridors of city hall, Baron was still employed by the municipality.
“[The municipality] cannot decide, some 2½ years later to now apply a different standard of conduct and/or discipline and dig up the past [with] its objective of getting rid of our client,” Howard wrote.
“It can also not decide that simply because our client is viewed as someone who will not necessarily toe the party line.
“Once an employer is aware of an alleged transgression, it must commence and continue with disciplinary action promptly and without undue delay.
“The failure to do so by an employer is fundamentally unfair.
“Our client will not be bullied into resigning,” Howard wrote.
Baron has not yet been served with any formal notice informing him of pending disciplinary action.
Mettler confirmed he had received Howard’s letter, saying he had noted the contents. He declined to comment further.