The legal battle between Kaya FM managing director Sibongile Mtyali and the radio station, which was supposed to play itself out in the Johannesburg Labour Court on Tuesday, was postponed to next week after the judge who was supposed to preside over the matter recused herself due to conflict of interest.
Mtyali, who was dismissed from her cushy job at the Joburg-based radio station, had applied to the court to force the station’s board to reverse the termination of her contract.
She said her contract, which she signed in 2021, was unlawfully terminated because the board, among others, did not take her to a disciplinary hearing to defend herself.
A court official, who did not want to be named because he is not allowed to speak to the media, said Mtyali and her lawyer, advocate McGregor Kufa, arrived in court and started girding their loins for the showdown with the station’s legal team.
The official said as they were busy with preparations, the judge who was supposed to preside over the matter invited her, Kufa and the station’s legal team to the court chambers.
“When they arrived there, the judge told them she could not preside over the matter because she is close to the Kaya FM board chairperson, Sizwe Mncwango, who is also cited by Sibongile as the second respondent in the case,” said the official.
The official further said the judge asked them if they could try to resolve the matter out of court. Kaya FM’s legal team then proposed to pay Mtyali a 12-month salary as part of the out-of-court settlement, but she rejected the offer.
“During the negotiation and before the termination of her contract, they had wanted to pay her for three months, but she refused and demanded that they pay her a salary of 18 years, because she had signed a permanent contract and had 18 years remaining in it.
“When she refused the 12-months pay offer, the judge told them that she would find another judge who will preside over this matter next week.”
Mtyali declined to comment and referred Sunday World to Kufa, who confirmed the postponement. He, however, declined to reveal the rationale behind the postponement.
In the court papers, which we have seen, Mtyali says Kaya FM senior presenters Phemelo Motene, Gugulethu Mfuphi, Sizwe Dhlomo and programmes manager Meikanyo Morotoba were central to her dismissal.
She further accuses the radio station of unlawfully terminating her contract after receiving separate complaints from Dhlomo, Motene, Mfuphi and Morotoba.
Motene, the former Generations actress, hosts Point of View while Mfuphi, a business anchor at CNBC Africa presents Kaya Biz, and Dhlomo broadcasts Kaya Drive.
Narrating her story, Mtyali said she was head-hunted by the board from the SABC on June 21 2021 to turn the station’s fortunes around. She said her mandate was to eradicate favouritism, boost staff morale, grow sales, implement the station’s new line-up, review strategy, brand positioning and drafting of budgets.
She said she shot the lights out and consequentially Mncwango stated in writing that he was impressed with her performance. She said she was surprised when she received a letter form the board in July 2022, three months into her performance period, accusing her of poor performance.
Mtyali further noted that the allegations of poor performance were first presented to her in a letter sent to her on September 27 when she was told that a grievance had been lodged by Dhlomo, Morotoba, Motene and Mfuphi.
“Mr Dhlomo had accused me of treating another presenter, Ms Mpho Maboi with favouritism because she was allowed to arrive at work at a time that was contractually one hour later than some other presenters,” read the papers in part.
Mtyali said this was not favouritism, but a condition to recruit Maboi after exercising her discretion as the managing director.
“I thought it ironic that in June 2022 I was before the board being accused of giving Mr Dhlomo more favourable terms on his contract when I increased his financial benefits by 13% more than his peers.
“I stood by that decision too because I had exercised my discretion to achieve my stated objective for the success of Kaya FM. I was acting deliberately and in the interest of Kaya FM in both decisions,” read the papers.
She said Motene and Mfuphi, whom she described as service providers, complained of her unavailability to meet with them to discuss their contracts. Their complaints, she said, surprised her, because they reported directly to Morotoba.
She said the board also alleged that 13 staff members had complained about her leadership style. But their complaints and identity, she said, were not disclosed to her and she was not even afforded an opportunity to challenge them.
Mtyali added that the board claimed the trust relationship between them has broken down, yet it did not provide concrete evidence of the many allegations levelled against her. She wants the court to review and set aside her dismissal as unlawful termination of her contract.
“That the dismissal of the applicant by the first and second respondents be declared invalid, unlawful and is set aside as such. I seek reinstatement on an urgent basis and in the circumstances, it has become necessary for me to bringing this application to set aside my unlawful dismissal,” read the court papers.
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