By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed with costs an application by former SABC Chief Operations Officer, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, to appeal an order declaring the decision of the then SABC board to pay him R11.5 million as unlawful and invalid.
Motsoeneng received a substantial bonus for securing a contentious agreement with MultiChoice, which granted the pay-TV giant access to the SABC archives.
Justices Van Der Merwe and Kathree-Setiloane dismissed the application on the grounds that there was no reasonable prospect of success in an appeal and there was no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard.
In 2021, the High Court set asside the board’s decision to pay Motsoeneng after it ruled that the payment was unlawful and invalid.
The court gave him seven days to repay the money, with interest, and instructed the SABC Pension Fund to pay the amount to the SABC or all the pension proceeds where the pension proceeds do not amount to R11.5 million.
Motsoeneng then launched an application for leave to appeal, which was dismissed in July.
On Wednesday, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) welcomed the SCA’s dismissal of his appeal.
SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the unit welcomes the decision by the SCA as it paves the way for the unit to recover the financial losses suffered by the SABC.