Mpofu case worries board

2008-05-17 22:44

Sabelo Ndlangisa and Japhet Ncube

Johannesburg - Axed SABC boss Dali Mpofu will know on Monday if he can go back to his plush 28th-floor office at the SABC's headquarters in Auckland Park, Johannesburg.

Mpofu, hastily suspended two weeks ago after he axed news chief Snuki Zikalala for allegedly leaking confidential company documents, took the SABC to court in a bid to challenge his suspension.

Judgment was reserved in the Johannesburg High Court until Monday.

A member of the board told City Press they were concerned that a court victory for Mpofu could make things difficult for them when Parliament discussed a motion of no confidence in the board.

Breach of company law

Mpofu wants the court to overturn his suspension and declare the board meeting that suspended him earlier this month unlawful.

He alleges it was in breach of company law and the SABC's articles of association.

In court papers Mpofu argued that the board meeting was unlawful because the executive directors of the SABC had not been invited to attend.

The court also heard that attempts to get rid of Mpofu were not driven by the entire non-executive section of the board, but by "three or four people who are being misled by the chairperson and the deputy chairperson".

- City Press