By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed an application brought by Hlaudi Motsoeneng to appeal the order declaring the decision by the then SABC board to pay him a R11.5 million “success fee” as unlawful and invalid.
The SCA also declined to grant condonation to the controversial former SABC chief operating officer for the lapsed special leave to appeal with costs and ordered that he cover the costs expended by the SABC in defending the lapsed appeal, including the fees of two counsel.
Motsoeneng was paid a hefty bonus by the public broadcaster for brokering a deal with pay TV, MultiChoice, for broadcast rights in 2016.
The award was declared unlawful in 2021 and he was ordered to pay the money back, with interest.
The judgment made by the old board was deemed unlawful and invalid by the High Court in December 2021, which also ordered him to reimburse the R11.5 million with interest.
Motsoeneng then applied for leave to appeal. On 19 January 2023, the SCA dismissed with costs an application brought by Motsoeneng to appeal the order of the High Court.
On January 20, 2023, full bench of High Court declined to give Motsoeneng permission to appeal. “Motsoeneng’s application for reconsideration to the President of the SCA was granted, “his attorney said on November 29, 2023.
The SCA President gave the order for the topic to be debated in front of the SCA. After that, Motsoeneng was required to file the appeal record; however, the Registrar of the SCA rejected his late filing.
After that, Motsoeneng had to request a pardon, which was ultimately granted. The appeal, however, lapsed because Motsoeneng once again filed his heads of argument after the deadline.
The SIU welcomed the SCA’s ruling, saying that the original order stands and paves the way for the SIU to continue with the processes to recover the “success fee” plus interest and legal fees.
SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago: “The original order stands and paves the way for the SIU to continue with the processes to recover the R11.5 million ‘success fee’ plus interest, as well as legal fees for clinching the MultiChoice deal, which the High Court had previously ordered Motsoeneng to repay to the SABC.”