{"id":267129,"date":"2025-12-24T07:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T07:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.ghanamma.com\/za\/2025\/12\/24\/kzn-health-says-zero-tolerance-after-employee-faces-drunk-driving-firearm-charges\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T07:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T07:30:00","slug":"kzn-health-says-zero-tolerance-after-employee-faces-drunk-driving-firearm-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2025\/12\/24\/kzn-health-says-zero-tolerance-after-employee-faces-drunk-driving-firearm-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"KZN Health says \u2018zero tolerance\u2019 after employee faces drunk driving, firearm charges"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/news.ghanamma.com\/za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2000&#038;operation=CROP&#038;offset=0x1&#038;resize=2000x1125.jpg\" class=\"type:primaryImage\"><\/p>\n<p>The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Health has condemned serious allegations against one of its employees following a road traffic incident involving a departmental vehicle on the N2 Freeway near Ellingham, Park Rynie.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, the department said it noted \u201cwith profound disturbance\u201d the charges laid by law enforcement authorities after the incident on December 21, 2024, and said it \u201cunequivocally condemns in the strongest possible terms\u201d the alleged conduct.<\/p>\n<p>The employee is facing multiple charges, including drunk driving, reckless and negligent driving, excessive speeding, fleeing from law enforcement officers, and the illegal possession of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.<\/p>\n<p>The department described the reported offences as \u201cappalling\u201d, saying they amount to a serious breach of the law and a violation of the trust placed in public servants.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do not take these allegations lightly,\u201d the Department said, adding that it has \u201czero tolerance for any official who abuses state resources, endangers public safety, and brings the name of the department into disrepute\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>It said the alleged combination of offences, including drinking while on duty or while driving a state vehicle, is viewed as an egregious violation of the Department\u2019s code of conduct and public service regulations.<\/p>\n<p>While the criminal justice process is under way, the department confirmed it has launched an internal investigation into the matter.<\/p>\n<p>The vehicle involved in the incident has been impounded, and steps are being taken to secure its recovery.<\/p>\n<p>The department said that if the internal process finds the employee guilty of misconduct, disciplinary action will follow, in addition to any consequences imposed by the courts.<\/p>\n<p>It reiterated its commitment to upholding high standards of integrity, accountability and the rule of law, and said it would act decisively to protect public confidence.<\/p>\n<p>The department stressed that no employee was above accountability and that due process will be followed to its conclusion.<\/p>\n<p><strong>kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Health has condemned serious allegations against one of its employees following a road traffic incident involving a departmental vehicle on the N2 Freeway near Ellingham, Park Rynie. In a statement, the department said it noted \u201cwith profound disturbance\u201d the charges laid by law enforcement authorities after the incident on December [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":265358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[162,2603,2451,7171,967,4333,32,3963,15265],"class_list":["post-267129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-politics","tag-charges","tag-driving","tag-drunk","tag-employee","tag-faces","tag-firearm","tag-health","tag-kzn","tag-tolerance"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>KZN Health says \u2018zero tolerance\u2019 after employee faces drunk driving, firearm charges - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2025\/12\/24\/kzn-health-says-zero-tolerance-after-employee-faces-drunk-driving-firearm-charges\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"KZN Health says \u2018zero tolerance\u2019 after employee faces drunk driving, firearm charges - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Health has condemned serious allegations against one of its employees following a road traffic incident involving a departmental vehicle on the N2 Freeway near Ellingham, Park Rynie. 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