At a special general meeting (SGM), Black Management Forum (BMF) members decided to dismiss their president Andile Nomlala.
“Members voted to dissolve the presidency of the forum to protect the organisation and to uphold its ethos, values, and core principles. The decision to dissolve the presidency was not reached lightly, and this moment in the history of the BMF stands as a painful one,” BMF acting managing director
At a special general meeting (SGM), Black Management Forum (BMF) members decided to dismiss their president Andile Nomlala.
“Members voted to dissolve the presidency of the forum to protect the organisation and to uphold its ethos, values, and core principles. The decision to dissolve the presidency was not reached lightly, and this
moment in the history of the BMF stands as a painful one,” BMF acting managing director Xolile Kunene wrote in a statement. The BMF SGM took place in December.
“The recent allegations meted out against president Andile Nomlala, and his subsequent suspension created conditions for the forum to deliberate on the best way forward,” the BMF added.
The organisation suspended Nomlala, who was elected BMF’s president in October 2018, after a former BMF intern filed rape charges against him, according to the Mail & Guardian. The alleged rape and sexual assault happened in May last year at Nomalala’s home in
Bryanston, Johannesburg.
In October last year, Sunday World reported that the former BMF intern had filed a R5-million lawsuit for sexual assault against Nomlala.
The BMF said its deputy president Esethu Mancotywa had resigned at the SGM, and the BMF members present resolved to
accept her resignation.
According to the Mail & Guardian, the BMF appointed Philippe Bakahoukoutela as its acting managing director in July 2021, despite allegedly of him being an undocumented Congolese foreigner. He allegedly gave the organisation a fraudulent résumé claiming that he had a work visa and was married to a South African.
However, the home affairs department has no record of Bakahoukoutela’s marital status and work permit, according to the report.
Bakahoukoutela also doubled as the BMF’s head of stakeholder relations, a position he has held since April 2020, according to the weekly newspaper. He joined the BMF in June 2007 as Western Cape provincial coordinator and marketing executive.
According to the Mail & Guardian, the BMF’s board became aware of the fraud allegations against Bakahoukoutela by at least June, but Mancotywa allegedly refused to remove him. In the statement on Thursday, the BMF said Bakahoukoutela resigned from the organisation three weeks ago.
The BMF members at the SGM appointed current board member Farah Ally as its interim chairperson. Ally will lead the organisation until it holds an elective AGM, when the BMF will elect a new president.
“The time frame for this process will be three months [starting] from January 2023,” the BMF said in the statement.
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