Court asked to discount statement praising Motsoeneng

The DA has filed a supplementary affidavit in its ongoing case against the SABC and Hlaudi Motsoeneng, requesting the Western Cape High Court to discount the representations made to the court by former SABC acting group CEO, Jimi Matthews. 'This should give Mr Matthews a golden opportunity to correct his statements to the court in an affidavit he lodged in Mr Motsoeneng’s stay application earlier this month,' notes the DA’s James Selfe in a statement on the Politicsweb site. He notes that Matthews, in his affidavit, sang the praises of Motsoeneng, claiming his presence at the SABC was vital to the public broadcaster and that the SABC would effectively suffer without Motsoeneng’s leadership. ‘However, in his recent resignation Mr Matthews cites that he left because of the ‘corrosive atmosphere’ at the SABC which has become untenable under Mr Motsoeneng’s leadership,’ says Selfe. ‘Appreciating the latest developments and clamp down of press freedom at the SABC, we can only assume that Mr Matthews was under duress when deposing to his supplementary affidavit and must use this golden opportunity to right this wrong and make representations that are more commensurate with his reasons for leaving.’