Suspended SABC chief in bid to stop hearing
SUSPENDED SABC chief executive James Aguma intends seeking an urgent Labour Court interdict to stop his disciplinary hearing, which he claims is unlawful.
His attorney‚ Osborne Molatudi, informed the chairman of the disciplinary hearing‚ Professor Taki Madima SC‚ about the move yesterday.
“We have now received an instruction to launch an urgent Labour Court application challenging the lawfulness of this inquiry and‚ for the record‚ I must say that for us to prepare a comprehensive application‚ we have requested the employer to provide us with a transcribed record of the last sitting on June 29‚” Molatudi said.
“In the absence of the written resolution and in line with your ruling‚ we now have an instruction to institute an urgent application on the basis that this inquiry is unlawful and therefore we require written undertakings that this inquiry shall not proceed.”
Molatudi argued further that during the previous sittings‚ Madima had ruled that the SABC must provide Aguma’s legal team with the resolution taken by the public broadcaster’s interim board‚ including minutes and transcripts from meetings that took place in April and May.
The hearing‚ which was in its fourth day yesterday‚ took place at Werksmans Attorneys in Sandton‚ Johannesburg.
It was stalled for more than four hours as Molatudi had earlier argued there was an ulterior motive for the SABC bringing four additional charges against Aguma‚ increasing the total number of charges to 10.
“We believe that transcript is crucial and we have not received any indication as to why it has not been provided‚ including today’s reasons as well as your written reasons as we say in the letter that will form part of the application‚” Molatudi said.
Madima postponed the disciplinary hearing and granted them until 10am today to file their urgent application.
However‚ he said the application had no bearing on the present hearing.
“All of the requests have no bearing or relevance on the continuation or not of this disciplinary hearing,” Madima said.
“Perhaps as well‚ in other forums‚ this would be relevant and useful to the employee, but not in this disciplinary hearing.
“The ruling I’m making is with regards to the continuation of the disciplinary hearing.
“The indulgence I can give you is that we do not proceed now‚ but we proceed tomorrow.
“If the order says the hearing must be stopped‚ it will be stopped‚ but I don’t have that order now.”
Aguma was suspended in May by the SABC’s interim board after being accused of providing false information under oath during the disciplinary proceedings brought against former chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng.
He has also been accused of tender irregularities and fruitless and wasteful expenditure during his tenure.