By Bongani Mdakane
Bongani@sundayworld.co.za
The battle for control of Soweto-based community radio station Jozi FM is heating up with the return from suspension of embattled chief executive Mpho Mhlongo, who has also publicly rejected the authority of the board that removed him.
Mhlongo, who heads up the station under the Soweto Media Resource Centre (SMRC), told a press conference on Friday that he remained the legitimate CEO and had the backing of the board, management and staff. He accused board chairperson Rapitse Montsho and two other directors of acting unlawfully.
“I have opened a case of theft against him, and while he was blinking in the Johannesburg prison for 10 days, the new board was elected,” Mhlongo told Sunday World, making reference to Montsho’s arrest last year.
Mbali Mondlana, a board member who is aligned with Mhlongo, said claims that he had been suspended were “false”.
The stance contradicts an earlier resolution said to have suspended Mhlongo and appointed Collen Hans as acting CEO. Insiders claim the move was linked to Icasa requirements and a July high court order directing that an annual general meeting be held within 60 days.
The court also struck from the urgent roll an SMRC application seeking control of a bank account allegedly controlled by Montsho, finding that the organisation could not repackage a dispute already removed from the urgent roll.
Montsho has since launched separate proceedings challenging the authority of nine people allegedly acting as SMRC directors and office bearers.
The dispute has also spilled into operations, with Montsho alleging that Mhlongo was behind a lockout at the station’s Dube premises earlier this week, where private security allegedly blocked Hans from entering.
Mhlongo denied the claim, telling Sunday World, “As for Collen, the staff doesn’t want him as the acting CEO.”
Montsho accused Mhlongo of misusing station resources and said management was aware of a forensic investigation.
Mhlongo, in turn, also accused Montsho of theft and said he and the new board are “trying to fix the mess he (Montsho) has created at the station”.
The latest spat comes as SMRC remains under scrutiny over National Lotteries Commission grants totalling about R34.8-million. Montsho was arrested last year on fraud and theft charges linked to the funding, but the charges were provisionally withdrawn in March.
The SMRC is also being investigated by the Special Investigating Unit for the unaccounted-for lottery funding.
- Mpho Mhlongo has returned from suspension and claims to be the legitimate CEO of Jozi FM with support from the board, management, and staff.
- Board chairperson Rapitse Montsho and two other directors were accused by Mhlongo of acting unlawfully, with a theft case opened against Montsho.
- A court ordered a Jozi FM annual general meeting within 60 days and struck out an SMRC application concerning control of a bank account allegedly held by Montsho.
- Montsho alleges Mhlongo instigated a lockout at the station preventing acting CEO Collen Hans from entering, which Mhlongo denied.
- The SMRC is under investigation for about R34.8-million in National Lotteries Commission grants, with Montsho previously arrested on fraud and theft charges related to the funding.
