Court Brands Former South African Airways Chair a 'Delinquent'
Dudu Myeni had been criticised for her role in pulling the airline out of a proposed deal with Emirates airways.
May 29, 2020 at 11:25 AM
2 minute read
Suth African Airways, Credit: Bob Adams, Wikicommons
South African Airways' (SAA) former chairperson has been declared 'a delinquent director for life' by the High Court in Pretoria, following her alleged conduct when she headed up the bankrupt state-owned carrier.
Dudu Myeni was accused of "knowlingly taking SAA and the country to the brink of disaster" during her tenure at SAA, which was placed in business rescue in December 2019.
The judgment, which brings to an end an almost two-year legal battle, means that Myeni will not be allowed to take up any directorship.
According to the judgment, Judge Ronel Tolmay spoke of "Myeni's dishonesty, breach of fiduciary duty, recklessness and gross negligence" and referred to her as a "director gone rogue" who paid little regard to her fiduciary duty to SAA.
Among other things, Myeni was accused of pressurizing former SAA chief executive Nico Bezuidenhout into pulling SAA out of a memorandum of understanding with Emirates airways that could have earned SAA annual revenues of $100 million, according to the judgment document.
Judge Tolmay said Myeni "caused untold harm to SAA and to the South African economy by what can only be described as sabotaging the lucrative Emerites deal."
In her conclusion, Judge Tolmay ordered that the judgment and evidence be referred to the National Procecuting Authourity (NPA) "for their consideration and determination of whether an investigation regarding possible criminal conduct should follow."
The judgment was handed down in favour of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) and the SA Pilots Association (Saapa), who were represented by Johannesburg based Pandor Attorneys.
Myeni was defended by Johannesburg based Lugisani Mantsha Attorneys.
Read more
Former Hogan Lovells Partner Linked to South Africa Corruption Scandal
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