Outa rejects efforts to halt its civil prosecution of ex-SAA chief Myeni

THE Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has spurned legal attempts against it to stop the civil prosecution of former SAA board boss Dudu Myeni, and has welcomed a final trial date set by the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. The case will now be heard in a week.

Yesterday, Outa chief legal officer Stefanie Fick confirmed her organisation had received a letter of demand asking it and the SAA Pilots’ Association to stop any legal action against Myeni.

This comes after Mpumalanga-based law firm, TC Pilusa Attorneys, wrote a letter of demand to the organisation asking it to withdraw the civil matter against Myeni, adding that the move to prosecute her was politically motivated.

In a letter, director Tumelo Pilusa listed his clients as the Black Caucus, RET Champions, Amadela Ngokubona and Landless People Organisation of South Africa, highlighting that they were of the view that Outa was being used as “political mercenaries” by one of the opposition parties in Parliament.

Pilusa said his clients indicated that Myeni no longer occupied any public office and should, therefore, be left to live her life.

When contacted, Pilusa said Outa had not confirmed receipt of his letter of demand, adding that he would, however, take further instructions from his client if Outa continued with the case against Myeni.

But Fick indicated she would not back off in her commitment to face Myeni in court.

Outa and the SAA Pilots’ Association want Myeni declared a delinquent director following her term as SAA board chairperson, from which she resigned in 2017.

“We will answer them, but we are not going to withdraw the matter. We are very happy to get our day in court. We will put our side and allow her to respond,” Fick said.

Fick also expressed delight at the court ruling, saying the matter would now go ahead on October 21 regardless of whether Myeni had a legal representative or not.

The ruling by Judge Ronel Tolmay came after she was forced to postpone the trial dates twice this week when Myeni cited financial constraints for her non-appearance in court.