A disciplinary hearing under an independent, external chairperson found him guilty on two charges:

1. Bringing the company name into disrepute by making defamatory comments on Twitter on or around September 19.

2. Irretrievably damaging the trust relationship between employer and employee.

Worldwide there are many examples of people being dismissed for inappropriate comments on social media.

As top South African IT lawyer Warren Weertman has been quoted as saying, “if you are in an employer, employee relationship, not just Facebook but blogging, you have to remember to always act in the employer’s best interest, that is a common law compulsion”.

An employer, company or institution has a responsibility to take action when it and its employees are defamed and false information about them is spread.

In the matter of the “cloned” photograph published on September 19, the company has dealt individually with all people who had a role in the serious error.

The editor has publicly apologised and is satisfied that such a mistake will not recur.