Former SA Airways (SAA) CEO Khaya Ngqula is expected to appear in the High Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday for allegedly misspending sponsorship money during his time at the company.
"The court argument will be centred around whether SAA, in its haste to sue Mr Ngqula, might have approached the wrong court to deal with the matter," his spokesman Louis Seeco said in a statement on Tuesday.
Ngqula left the company in March 2009.
KPMG conducted a forensic audit following allegations made largely against Ngqula and in July last year, SAA sued him for R30.8 million.
The SAA board sought to recover R27m Ngqula allegedly spent on sign-on retention bonuses to company employees, in excess of the authority given to him.
It also sought to recover R3.3m for his hiring of hospitality suites in various sports stadiums and at least R500,000 he spent on free junkets allegedly for his personal friends.
Ngqula allegedly organised overseas trips for friends and associates to the 2006 Fifa World Cup, the Rugby World Cup in 2007 and the ATP Tennis Tournament in 2008.
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