SAA defends appointment of Seshibe as acting chief executive

Airline says allegations from previous employment were investigated and found without merit.

South African Airways defended its appointment of Matshela Seshibe as acting group chief executive after criticism relating to his previous employment, saying allegations against him had been investigated and dismissed.¹²

Seshibe was appointed to the acting role after John Lamola resigned earlier this month, with his departure effective at the end of April.¹ The airline said three other board members had also resigned recently "for various reasons", but transport minister Barbara Creecy remained confident the remaining 10 directors had the necessary expertise to perform their duties.¹

In a statement on Monday, SAA said "historic[al] allegations" made against Seshibe in a previous role had been "fully considered and conclusively resolved, with the allegations found to be without merit".¹ The airline did not specify the nature of the allegations.¹

Local media had reported criticism of the appointment in light of Seshibe having been allegedly suspended from poultry producer Daybreak Farms, owned by the Public Investment Corporation, for procurement irregularities.¹ Daybreak Farms is a government workers-owned company.²

SAA said it was "concerned by the continued recycling of unsubstantiated claims that have already been addressed", warning that such reporting "risks creating a misleading narrative that does not reflect the factual outcome of the matter".¹ The board said it had conducted "the necessary governance and due diligence processes" before confirming Seshibe's appointment.¹²

The airline said it remained "confident in his leadership, integrity as well as his ability to guide the organisation through its next phase".² Lamola had played a role in turning around the airline following its exit from business rescue and returning it to profit.²