Suspended South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) chief Dali Mpofu plans to appeal a latest court ruling that saw him lose a battle in his bid to have his suspension dismissed.
”An application for leave to appeal will be launched urgently within the next 48 hours,” Mpofu told reporters in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
”I still believe the [SABC board] meeting was unlawful and I believe the exclusions were unlawful,” Mpofu said.
The Johannesburg High Court ruled on Monday that the meetings at which the SABC board decided Mpofu’s third suspension from office was not unlawful.
Mpofu’s lawyers had argued that the meeting was unlawful because Mpofu and two other executive directors were asked to excuse themselves from the meeting.
Mpofu was first suspended on May 7, a day after he suspended his news chief, Snuki Zikalala, who was accused of leaking a memorandum on Mpofu’s alleged bad management of the SABC.
Zikalala was reinstated in his position as SABC head of news last week because the board believed Mpofu did not have the authority to suspend him.
‘It’s not about how to run meetings’
Mpofu told SABC radio news on Monday: ”The outcome of today is not that significant because, as you know, the judge divided the thing into three parts. So it’s the last two parts that really matter.
”This was merely on the question of the validity of the meeting. But, obviously, this is a much bigger issue. It’s not about how to run meetings; it’s about, you know, human dignity, it’s about abuse of power, and these issues will be dealt with in the stage two and stage three.
”With the legal arguments in those stages I’m quite optimistic. As in any fight for justice the bad guys sometimes also get a few points. I think this is one for the forces of darkness,” Mpofu said.
SABC board lawyer Paul Pretorius argued last week that even if the case was not referred to the Labour Court, the judge should still find that the board meeting was lawful because Mpofu and two other executive directors left the meeting voluntarily.
Mpofu’s lawyers have argued that they were forced to leave, which would make the meeting unlawful.
They have also argued that the meeting did not follow the correct legal procedures, and quoted from two previous judgements by Judge Moroa Tsoka that overturned the chief executive’s first two suspensions.
Mpofu’s lawyer, Sandile July, said the next hearing, to be held on August 5, will deal with whether the board had the authority to suspend Mpofu.
”We need to read the reasons [for dismissing the application] and satisfy ourselves to see what steps we will take,” he said. – Sapa