Fresh blow for Hlaudi as court declares SABC appointment ‘irrational and unlawful’

Embattled South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) executive Hlaudi Motsoeneng has been dealt a fresh blow after the High Court in Cape Town on Monday declared his appointment “irrational and unlawful”.

The court ruled that Motsoeneng was not entitled to occupy any position at SABC until a damning 2014 report by the public protector is set aside or new disciplinary processes against him are finalised. The court said the initial disciplinary hearing that cleared Motsoeneng of any wrongdoing was “wholly inadequate”.

Motsoeneng was recently reappointed to the position of group executive of corporate affairs‚ the post he held before becoming chief operating officer.

He lost his job as chief operating officer in September after the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed his application for leave to appeal against a ruling by the Western Cape High Court‚ setting aside his permanent appointment.

The SABC then announced that it had reappointed him to his previous post of group executive for corporate affairs.

This precipitated the resignation of two board members in Parliament in October.

In November‚ the High Court heard a Democratic Alliance (DA) application to set aside the outcome of the disciplinary inquiry that cleared Motsoeneng‚ and to have his permanent position as group executive of corporate affairs declared invalid.

Lawyers representing Communications Minister Faith Muthambi‚ the SABC and Motsoeneng seemed to agree in court that fresh disciplinary proceedings should be instituted.

But they opposed the application to terminate his employment unless former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s report is set aside by the courts. The SABC‚ which is challenging the report‚ argued it was premature for the courts to rule on Motsoeneng’s future until its review application has been dealt with.

But the DA argued that Motsoeneng was an “unethical‚ manipulative fraudster who has destroyed any semblance of good corporate governance at the SABC”‚ and should not hold any influential position.

In her 2014 report‚ Madonsela found Motsoeneng had fabricated a matric qualification‚ purged those he disagreed with‚ and irregularly increased his salary from R1.5-million to R2.4-million in one year.

A disciplinary hearing cleared Motsoeneng of wrongdoing‚ but the DA says the process was a “sham and a charade”. The hearing was one of the remedial actions directed by Madonsela in her report.

Anton Katz‚ for the DA‚ argued in court that in the face of the public protector’s clear findings and remedial action‚ Motsoeneng was not an appropriate person to be appointed in any SABC position‚ let alone an executive position.

“For as long as the public protector’s findings and remedial actions remain unchallenged‚ it would be irrational for any organisation in the public sector to employ Motsoeneng‚” said Katz.

A parliamentary ad hoc committee looking into the mess at the public broadcaster is continuing on Monday.

The ad hoc committee has heard damning testimony from various former SABC executives detailing the rot at the corporation. On Friday‚ former SABC acting CEO Phil Molefe told the committee that Motsoeneng threatened to “go to Pretoria” in an apparent reference to President Jacob Zuma after he refused to give him a R500 000 increase.

Molefe said that in November 2011‚ while he was in Ghana‚ Motsoeneng was appointed both acting CEO and acting chief operating officer within a few days. He remained acting chief operating officer until July 2014‚ where he was given the position on a permanent basis. This was despite the damning public protector report.

Molefe's eventual successor‚ Lulama Mokhobo‚ and Ronnie Lubisi‚ another former board member‚ revealed how Muthambi bullied the board into hiring Motsoeneng permanently. Mokhobo said Motsoeneng received a hefty salary increase while she was there‚ and one before she joined.

Read the full judgment:

– TMG Digital/BusinessLIVE