The newly elected SABC board would challenge the appointment of former Telkom Media chief content officer Solly Mokoetle as its group chief executive officer, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

An anonymous “angry board member” told the paper that the board would protest the imposition of Mokoetle as CEO.

“This means that we won’t be able to appoint our own CEO, as boards usually do. Their appointment was very unfortunate and a flagrant disregard of due process,” the anonymous board member said.

Mokoetle, who was the SABC’s chief operations officer between 2001 and December 2006, takes up office from 1 January on a five-year contract.

The board member said the decision by communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda could plunge the SABC into “total chaos”.

Mokoetle’s appointment followed a R11m settlement by the broadcaster to former CEO Dali Mpofu in August.

Mpofu had taken the public broadcaster to court after he was suspended for suspending then head of news and current affairs Snuki Zikalala. Mpofu accused Zikalala of leaking confidential documents to other media outlets.

The board in turn suspended Mpofu on 7 May last year, saying he had no authority to act against Zikalala. In June, the high court in Johannesburg dismissed with costs the SABC’s appeal against reinstating Mpofu.

The judge ruled that then SABC board chair Khanyi Mkhonza was caught up in the bitter rivalry between Mpofu and Zikalala, whose contract as head of news and current affairs ended in April.

But in August the two parties reached an agreement that Mpofu would be paid out. — Sapa