The Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, has ruled in favour of former SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng in a matter between him and the public broadcaster pertaining to more than R2.5 million that was paid to musicians in 2016.
At the time, 53 music legends such as Blondie Makhene, Abigail Kubeka, Mara Louw and the late Steve Kekana were paid a once-off R50 000 by Motsoeneng.
The majority judgment, dated Monday July 29, found Motsoeneng not liable to repay the money as the act was done in good faith and not with the intention to personally benefit from it.
“The question at the heart of this appeal is when a debt arising from an unlawful act falls due, is it when an organ of state forms the subjective opinion that the act was unlawful?
“Or is it when a court sets aside the act having been persuaded of this unlawfulness?
The SABC, in its appeal, had argued that a claim payment arising from an unlawful administrative act is a debt for the purposes of the Prescription Act.
The SABC said the Operations Committee, chaired by Motsoeneng and the executives, was accused of taking the decision to approve the payments to the musicians unlawfully as there was no policy.
The judges ruled that Motsoeneng had not acted in an unethical manner even though he could at a later stage be found to have acted outside his powers.
“In these circumstances, I do not think that the repayment relief can be just and equitable.
“To order repayment in this case would be to create the possibility that state officials who expend money on the State’s behalf in good faith with laudable aims and with no discernible motives for personal gain may be held personally liable for that money if their conduct is later found to have been unlawful.
“It is well established that State officials are generally immune from damages claims arising from negligent acts performed in their official capacities in good faith,” reads part of the high court judgment.
On Tuesday, Motsoeneng, said he did not regret giving money to the artists.
If given the opportunity, he would do it again to transform the artists’ lives, he said. He told ‘The Star’ that he was particularly proud that the funds went to “noble causes”.
What was more important for him, was that he had played his role in making sure that the SABC was transformed, he said.
Motsoeneng emphasised that the funds paid to the artists, and which opened a can of worms for him and other SABC executives, was not SABC money, as alleged by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).
He claimed there was a witch-hunt against him and the legal action taken by the SABC and SIU was a political ploy.
“I have been saying this is political because I am aware that all these politicians, especially those who are against me, are afraid that if they don’t tarnish my name I am going to emerge as one of the leaders of SA. People are afraid of me.”
According to Motsoeneng, his political foes were out to tarnish his name in an effort to derail him from running for the country’s highest office.
In trying to get statements, Motsoeneng alleged that the SIU spoke to people who knew “nothing” about the funding of the artists.
Attempts to get comment from the SABC were unsuccessful at the time of going to print.
The Star