SCA dismisses Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s application to appeal R11.5 million payment ruling
Former South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng has suffered yet another court blow after the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein dismissed with costs his application to appeal the order of the South Gauteng High Court, declaring the decision of the then board to pay him R11.5 million as unlawful and invalid.
In August 2016, the then SABC board took a decision to pay Motsoeneng a success fee for clinching the MultiChoice deal.
In February 2018, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the SABC jointly brought issued summons against Motsoeneng in the High Court, Gauteng Local Division, to recover the success fee.
In December 2021, the High Court reviewed and set aside the former board’s decision and found that the decision was unlawful and invalid.
No prospect of success
The High Court then ordered Motsoeneng to repay R11.508,549.12 within seven days of the order, with interest at the rate of 15.5% per annum calculated from 13 September 2016 to date of payment.
The court also ordered the SABC Pension Fund to pay the amount to the SABC should Motsoeneng fail to pay.
In July last year, the Johannesburg High Court dismissed Motsoeneng’s application for leave to appeal the court’s decision to pay back money that he gained unlawfully – a ruling supported by the SCA on Friday after it said “there was no reasonable prospect of success in an appeal and there is no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard”.
SIU welcomes order against Motsoeneng
In a statement on Wednesday, the SIU said it welcomed the SCA order, which paved way for the unit to recover financial losses suffered by the public broadcaster.
“The SIU was, in terms of Proclamation R29 of 2017, directed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate allegations of corruption, maladministration, malpractice, and payments made by the SABC together with the conducts of its employees, and recover financial losses suffered by the SABC,” it said.
“In line with SIU Act 74 of 1996, the SIU is authorized to institute civil proceedings, and refer evidence pointing to criminal conduct to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for prosecution.”
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