SOUTH African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng is not going anywhere despite losing a string of court challenges, the latest one delivered by the High Court in Cape Town on Monday.
The court dismissed with costs an application by Motsoeneng and the state broadcaster for leave to appeal against a ruling setting aside his permanent appointment.
But SABC spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said the broadcaster would "definitely" petition the Supreme Court of Appeal. "Mr Motsoeneng is still the COO (chief operating officer) until all court processes have been concluded."
The saga has dragged on for two years with no resolution in sight. It has played out in the high court, the Supreme Court of Appeal and in the Constitutional Court, where it had an abortive stint.
DA federal executive chairman James Selfe said Motsoeneng should not be chief operating officer while the appellate court was deciding whether to allow him to appeal against the judgment setting aside his appointment.
"We will be studying the high court ruling and, if needs be, we will bring an application to enforce the judgment," said Selfe. The DA is also awaiting the outcome of its application for the high court to set aside the outcome of Motsoeneng’s disciplinary inquiry.
Constitutional law expert and political commentator Shadrack Gutto said the DA would have a strong case if it approached the courts to enforce the Western Cape High Court’s judgment. "We are dealing with people trying to dodge … obligations…. The appeal has not gone through yet, so Motsoeneng cannot remain in office.
"He is defying the courts, and this has been allowed by the board because it is compromised. He has to step aside, if not resign."
In 2015, the Western Cape High Court found that Motsoeneng’s appointment was irrational and unlawful, and set it aside.
Judge Dennis Davis, presiding over the case, said the information before Communications Minister Faith Muthambi at the time of Motsoeneng’s promotion was "muddled and unclear", and put her "in no position to exercise a rational decision to elevate him".
The case was brought to the court by the DA, based on Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s findings against him made in 2014. In her report, When Governance and Ethics Fail, Madonsela found that Motsoeneng had fabricated his matric qualification and increased his salary irregularly, from R1.5m to R2.4m in one year.
Muthambi had also appealed against the high court judgment, setting aside Motsoeneng’s appointment.
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