Former South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC) chief operating officer (COO) Hlaudi Motsoeneng, has been ordered to pay back about R18 million to his former employer, after the Constitutional Court rejected his appeal.
Motsoeneng was denied an opportunity to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal regarding the success fee in which he received from the public broadcaster by the Constitutional Court on September 18.
He sought to appeal a January 19, 2023, decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal, which had dismissed his application with costs.
The application was in relation to the decision by the High Court in Gauteng Local Division, Johannesburg, which declared the payment of R 11.5 million to Motsoeneng by the then SABC Board as unlawful and invalid.
However, in August 2016, the SABC board decided to pay Motsoeneng a success fee for his role in securing the MultiChoice deal.
The High Court ruled that Motsoeneng must pay back the R 11.5 million plus interest, bringing his total liabilities to approximately R18 million.
Kaizer Kganyago, spokesperson for the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) voiced excitement over the Constitutional Court’s decision to reject Motsoeneng’s appeal.
“The SIU welcomes and sees the Constitutional Court's decision of 18 September 2024 as a positive step, as it clears the way to pursue the outstanding amount from Motsoeneng.”
He said they have managed to recover more than R6 million from the pension benefits of the leader of African Content Movement (ACM).
“The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has already recovered R 6,476,515.21 from his pension benefits,” Kganyago said.
Motsoeneng who used to hold the top position at the SABC for being the chief operating officer, from 2011 until 2013, was shown the door after bringing the public broadcaster’s image into a disgrace.
Following his dismissal, he later started his own political party, the ACM in December 2018.
IOL Politics