‘He just went silent’: Advocate reflects on five-year fight to clear Heathfield High principal’s name
Wesley Neumann successfully challenged his dismissal as Heathfield High School principal at the Labour Court.
Image: Chevon Booysen
Wesley Neumann has been reinstated as principle of Heathfield High
Image: Tracy-Lynn Ruiters
For Advocate Vernon Seymour, the phone call he made just after the Labour Court ruling is one he will not forget.
“We weren’t in court, it was done virtually,” Seymour told Weekend Argus.
“I called him and said, ‘How happy was your New Year? Because I am about to make it the happiest New Year ever.’ For a minute he was silent. He knew we were expecting the judgment.”
Seymour said when he read the court order to Heathfield High School principal Wesley Neumann, there was silence on the other end of the line.
“He just went quiet.”
The ruling, which ordered Neumann’s retrospective reinstatement after a five-year legal battle with the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), marked the end of what Seymour described as an exhausting and deeply personal ordeal.
The two spoke again early the following morning.
“He told me he had a sleepless night. He was tossing and turning and couldn’t believe it,” Seymour said. “But he is relieved.”
The outcome carried particular emotional weight as Neumann’s father, one of his strongest supporters throughout the case, passed away several months before the judgment.
“I recalled the last time I went to see him with his father,” Seymour said. “His father told me he didn’t know if he was going to make it to this day, but he had complete confidence.”
According to Seymour, Neumann’s father said: ‘Whatever happens, he is going to be so proud of all of us.’
On the morning after the ruling, Neumann visited his father’s grave.
“That says everything,” Seymour said.
Neumann, he added, has been overwhelmed by messages of support.
“His phone hasn’t stopped going off. There were many people who stood by him and never gave up.”
Neumann is expected to return to Heathfield High School in February.
“For now, he’s reflecting and trying to get his life back in order,” Seymour said. “The school has always been one of his top priorities.”
Looking back, Seymour said the matter should never have reached the courts.
“My very first advice to Mr Neumann was that this could be resolved around the table,” he said. “I formally wrote to then WCED head Brian Schreuder proposing a meeting. I sent two letters and we never got that discussion. We were compelled to go to court.”
Five years later, the Labour Court found that key pandemic-related factors had been ignored.
“The judge found that complaints about anxiety, fear of contracting COVID-19, reports of positive cases at the school, and infections among families of learners and staff were dismissed,” Seymour said.
He added that one staff member had died from COVID-19.
“Those factors should have been considered. They weren’t, and that’s why the decisions were flawed,” he said.
Seymour also pointed to what the court found to be selective discipline.
“Mr Neumann wasn’t the only principal who engaged in social media campaigning,” he said. “Different strokes for different folks.”
He said the court also rejected the narrative constructed about his client.
“That narrative did not stand up.”
The Special Action Committee–Education (SAC-E) welcomed the judgment, describing it as a decisive affirmation of justice, fairness and due process.
“This ruling brings to an end a protracted and painful chapter spanning more than five years,” said SAC-E chairperson Terrence Smith.
SAC-E said it had consistently maintained that the matter was never about Neumann’s professional competence, integrity or commitment to education, but rather about political and personal persecution.
“The Labour Court’s judgment vindicates our position and confirms that the actions taken against Mr Neumann could not withstand legal scrutiny,” Smith said.
The organisation commended Neumann and his family for their resilience, praised Seymour for his unwavering commitment, and thanked the Heathfield High School community and broader community for their sustained support.
“This judgment must serve as a sobering reminder that abuse of power, political interference and personal vendettas have no place in our education system,” Smith said.
In response, the WCED said it had noted the Labour Court’s decision and that its legal counsel was reviewing the judgment.
“The Western Cape Education Department notes the Labour Court’s decision, handed down by Acting Judge de Kock on 5 January 2026, to set aside the dismissal of former Heathfield High School principal Mr Wesley Neumann and replace it with a final written warning,” said WCED director of communication Bronagh Hammond.
Hammond said a decision on whether to lodge an appeal would be taken in due course.
She added that the judgment followed guilty findings against Neumann by an independent presiding officer in 2021 and an Education Labour Relations Council arbitrator in 2023, who at the time found dismissal to be an appropriate sanction.
“While the Labour Court overturned some findings, it upheld one charge relating to disrespectful and insolent language in written correspondence to the Head of Department,” Hammond said.
“The WCED remains committed to ensuring that disciplinary processes are applied fairly, consistently and in the best interests of learners, educators and the public education system.”