Hlaudi Motsoeneng is not entitled to hold any executive position at the SABC, the Western Cape high court said on Monday.
The court found the decision by the SABC to appoint the former chief operating officer of the public broadcaster as its new general executive of corporate affairs was both unlawful and irrational.
Motsoeneng must step down from the SABC until a report by the public protector is set aside or a new disciplinary process against him has been finalised. The court found an earlier disciplinary hearing was inadequate. It also ordered that Motsoeneng pay his legal fees personally.
The SABC appointed Motsoeneng to the general executive of corporate affairs position after he lost his job as chief operating officer. In September, the supreme court refused his application for leave to appeal a high court judgment setting aside his permanent appointment as COO.
In October, the Democratic Alliance filed an affidavit in the Western Cape high court to have Motsoeneng’s appointment as general executive of corporate affairs declared invalid.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane said after the court handed down judgment that it was time for Motsoeneng to go and welcomed the court order that SABC board members and Motsoeneng must personally cover their legal fees.
“This order goes a long way in ensuring that compromised individuals who serve at the highest levels of government do not use the money of the people to fight their personal and political battles in the country’s courts,” Maimane said.
“As at this point in time, the public protector’s report stands. Therefore, Mr Motsoeneng should immediately vacate his office at the SABC’s Auckland Park headquarters and a disciplinary process must be instituted and conducted in a transparent and accountable manner,” he said. — (c) 2016 NewsCentral Media
