A case for prosecution

MORE than two-and-a-half years ago, Public Protector Thuli Madonsela issued a report on the SABC. She called it When Governance and Ethics Fail.

The indictment started at the title, and the 24-page report focused largely on the activities of the figure who was then acting chief operating officer, Hlaudi Motsoeneng. It also delved into the SABC’s failures in dealing with him.

The protector found he had lied about his matric qualification, had perpetrated fraud. It could not have been more forthright or condemnatory.

Had Madonsela slipped in any way in her findings of dishonesty, abuse of power and his “irregular” salary increases (R900 000 more in a year), Motsoeneng could have claimed a tidy sum for defamation.

More than two-and-a-half years later, Motsoeneng, billed as the COO of the SABC in spite of repeated court findings that he should not be, appeared on stage at the televised Mandoza funeral on Friday.

He used the occasion to jut his jaw at his critics. He, not others, would decide his future, he said.

Was this bravado? Or was it the confidence of one assured of political protection – even in the face of emphatic judicial disapproval of his appointment, the most recent just days before?

Why the tip-toe with this man? The SABC board, or at least part of it, wants to help him dodge court decisions and remain as acting COO. This is an appalling example of disrespect for the rule of law.

A comparison of the Motsoeneng episode with the fate of former police colonel, Vincent Mdunge, spokesman for the SAPS in KwaZulu-Natal, is unavoidable. He has five years in prison hanging over his head for fraud and forgery, and is presently on appeal.

Both involve qualifications, lies and jobs. But Motsoeneng is reportedly cashing in instead on fabulous bonuses. This is bewildering.