The Democratic Alliance has asked the high court to make cost awards against SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng personally for what the party has described as his “vexatious litigation”.
Motsoeneng is making a bid to appeal to the constitutional court after a supreme court of appeal judgment that dismissed his appeal against part of a judgment that found that he must be suspended pending a disciplinary hearing.
The high court in the Western Cape had ruled that Motsoeneng be suspended for 60 days pending the outcome of the disciplinary hearing, ordered by public protector Thuli Madonsela.
The DA said on Friday that it will approach the high court seeking an order of contempt against the SABC for failing to suspend Motsoeneng.
James Selfe, chairman of the DA’s federal executive, said Motsoeneng’s application for leave to appeal to the constitutional court is “without merit and amounts to an abuse of court process and a waste of public money”.
“Further to this it is an appropriate case in which the cost awards should be made against Mr Motsoeneng personally for his vexatious litigation,” Selfe said.
“Mr Motsoeneng is, as a matter of law, suspended. Despite knowing all of this, Mr Motsoeneng is still attending the offices of the SABC and acting as though he still has the powers of the chief operating officer when the law is expressly clear that he does not, pending the outcome of his disciplinary inquiry scheduled to begin on 30 October 2015,” he said.
“This is a contemptuous demonstration of disdain for the rule of law and the dictates of due process, by Mr Motsoeneng and the SABC. It is vital that Mr Motsoeneng’s suspension be implemented while he is the subject of a disciplinary inquiry so that he can not compromise the integrity of the inquiry.” — (c) 2015 NewsCentral Media