/ 14 July 2008

Court dismisses Mpofu’s SABC application

An application to declare unlawful the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board meeting at which SABC chief executive Dali Mpofu was suspended was dismissed in the Johannesburg High Court on Monday.

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.

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 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. — Sapa