Hlaudi Motsoeneng will shortly be served with papers of the R1million
lawsuit.
Image by TimesLive
In a clear case of how the mighty have fallen, the former Chief Operations Officer (COO) and current Group Executive of Corporate Affairs of the SABC, Mr Hlaudi Motsoeneng, was on Thursday revealed to have been sued by the Chief Whip of the ANC, Mr Jackson Mthembu for R1 million for defamation. This follows statements that Motsoeneng allegedly made on public television to the extent that he had a meeting with the Chief Whip, at which Mthembu had attempted to ‘capture’ him. The lawsuit appears to emanate from a broadcast of the programme, The New Age, a business briefing in which Motsoeneng made the claim about Jackson Mthembu. Mr Motsoeneng made outrageous claims and veiled threats against the chief whip, warning him to desist from ‘making a lot of noise’ regarding the SABC and alleging his interest was driven by ulterior motives. Mr Motsoeneng further alleged that the chief whip had attempted to ‘capture’ him,” Mthembu said in a statement. According to the Mail and Guardian, Mthembu is suing Motsoeneng for R1 Million and has also demamded a public apology as well as the fact that the former COO of the national broadcaster pays the legal costs. Mthembu believes that the comments that Motsoeneng made was his way of trying to intimidate the members of the ruling party so that they would not go ahead with the inquiry into the workings of the SABC. This refers to the inquiry that is being conducted by a parliamentary committee to look into the workings of the National Broadcaster. In addition, the committee has been following up on the broadcaster’s controversial board and editorial policies. “The appointment of the corporation’s former COO, whose previous appointment was also set aside by the courts, is without a doubt the last straw that breaks the camel’s back,” said Mthembu. He went further on to state that everything that is happening at the SABC has had the effect of stopping the national broadcaster from discharging its core function. Mthembu stated that Motsoeneng would be served with the relevant papers to the lawsuit.
