The SABC has been handed yet another legal defeat over efforts to defend its former chief operating officer, Hlaudi Motsoeneng.
The high court in the Western Cape on Tuesday dismissed the SABC’s appeal against an earlier judgment which found that Motsoeneng is not fit to hold any senior position at the public broadcaster.
In December, the high court ruled in favour of the Democratic Alliance, finding that Motsoeneng’s appointment as group executive of corporate affairs was unlawful and irrational.
Judge Owen Rogers found that the SABC’s disciplinary process – which cleared Motsoeneng – was “wholly inadequate”, and ordered a new disciplinary to be held in the open and in line with former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s report into the broadcaster.
The DA on Tuesday welcomed the court’s latest judgment. The chairman of the party’s federal executive committee, James Selfe, said: “This is a victory for the rule of law and a positive step towards restoring the integrity and independence of the SABC.”
Selfe said Motsoeneng must now be removed from the SABC “until such time as he has either faced a satisfactory disciplinary hearing and/or the findings and remedial action by public protector have been reviewed and set aside by another court”.
“It is high time that the SABC cease with its frivolous litigation at the expense of the South African taxpayer and focus on fixing the SABC, and correcting the damage that Mr Motsoeneng caused during his reign of terror,” he said. — © 2017 NewsCentral Media
