Hlaudi Motsoeneng ordered to pay back the money

The high court has ordered controversial former SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng to pay R11.5-million, plus interest, to the public broadcaster within seven days.

The Johannesburg court found that the SABC’s decision to pay Motsoeneng an R11.5-million “success fee” in 2016 for a broadcasting deal he concluded with MultiChoice should be set aside as it was “unlawful and invalid”.

“The court ordered Motsoeneng to repay the amount paid to him, as a success fee amounting to R11 508 549.12, within seven days of the order, with interest at the rate of 15.5% per annum calculated from 13 September 2016 to date of payment,” the SABC said in a statement on Friday.

Read the judgment in full (PDF)

If Motsoeneng fails to pay back the money within seven days, the SABC pension fund has been ordered by the court to hand over the money from his pension.

The SABC and the Special Investigating Unit jointly approached the court to review the decision to pay the success fee to Motsoeneng.

“The court action was informed by the SIU investigation into the affairs of the SABC, which revealed that the SABC irregularly paid monies to individuals and entered into contracts to the detriment of the public broadcaster.”

Motsoeneng was ordered by the high court to pay the cost of the application and the cost of two counsel.   – © 2021 NewsCentral Media