The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board said it
disagreed with a Johannesburg High Court ruling, which set
aside the suspension of CEO Dali Mpofu and criticised the conduct of
the public broadcaster's chairperson, writes Fienie Grobler in M&G Online.
Judge Moroa Tsoka said the entire matter was handled badly by board chairperson Khanyi Mkhonza, saying her behaviour "falls short of a director who should act independently".
But Mkhonza issued a statement shortly after the ruling, saying: "While the board acknowledges that advocate Mpofu has every right to pursue all legal avenues available to him to challenge his suspension, we, however, remain convinced that our action against him is legitimate and justified.
"We will therefore carefully study the high court judgement and the reasons given by the judge before issuing a comprehensive statement on our planned course of action in response to the judgment."
Tsoka ruled that Mpofu should be reinstated because "the meeting at which the decision was taken to suspend [him] was unlawful" and did not follow the correct legal procedures.
The judge said it appeared that a "deliberate decision" was taken to exclude Mpofu and two other executive directors from the SABC board meeting where his suspension was decided on.
He said the exclusion "robbed Mpofu of the right to participate fully" in this meeting.
Outside the court, Mpofu held out an olive branch to the SABC board.
"There is a board meeting that I am attending this afternoon [Monday] … I will sit down and try and resolve the issues amicably. I hope my hand of friendship will be welcomed," said Mpofu, dressed in a black suit and green tie and flanked by his wife, Mpumi.
Click here to read the full report, posted on M&G Online.ÂÂÂ
