Black Management Forum president sues fellow member for defamation

Allegations of theft, failure to act on corruption and questionable fees paid to directors.

These claims are at the centre of a bitter feud between Black Management Forum (BMF) president Mpho Motsei and a former board member, Papama Mnqandi. In a dramatic turn of events, Motsei has filed a R2.5m defamation lawsuit against Mnqandi, for making “false and damaging allegations” in letters written to the board.

The matter is before the high court in Johannesburg after Motsei filed papers launching the suit against Mnqandi, who is the organisation’s national chair of young professionals.

In the papers, Motsei said the allegations against him were contained in Mnqandi’s letter dated May 7.

BMF, a nonprofit body founded in 1976, is mandated to ensure that corporate and public sector management structures reflect the demographics and values of broader South African society.

Motsei said Mnqandi previously wrote similar defamatory letters about him. Motsei now wants Mnqandi to pay R1.5m in damages for injury to his dignity and reputation, as well as R1m in special damages for financial losses allegedly suffered as a result of the statements.

Mnqandi, a former board member, said he would oppose the suit.

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According to the Motsei’s summons, Mnqandi accused him of being involved in a “BMF heist”, including illegal payment of director fees and failure to act against corruption within the organisation.

Motsei said Mnqandi accused him of being part of a leadership structure engaged in “thievery”, bankrupting or destroying the forum as well as failing to disclose personal financial interests and being a “compromised president”.

The letter also described Motsei as part of a “cabal” that was “anti-transformation, anti-black and self-serving”, while accusing him of acting unlawfully, unethically and contrary to the interests of the forum.

Mnqandi also claimed Motsei was unfit to hold office.

“The defendant [Mnqandi] published the statements wrongfully and with the intention to injure the plaintiff’s reputation, alternatively with knowledge of such harm, alternatively reckless as to such harm,” Motsei said in the papers.

He asserted that Mnqandi should have known that the letter would be circulated within the organisation and would cause reputational harm.

Motsei said in March his attorneys wrote to Mnqandi demanding that he cease and desist from publishing or repeating the statements and to formally withdraw them.

They also demanded a written apology.

But Mnqandi failed to comply, he said.

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Motsei said he remained open to resolving the matter without protracted litigation and to afford an opportunity to issue a formal apology and refrain from repeating the allegations.

However, Mnqandi said he was not willing to back down on his claims.

“I think it is a complete joke. I brought this [Motsei’s summons]to the attention of the board. What is odd about the summons is that they include a grievance letter I lodged against the president of the BMF — a grievance letter that is supposed to be undergoing an internal grievance process within the BMF, in line with the code of conduct of the BMF, is suddenly part of the summons.

“I am not sure what the R2.5m is based on. I plan to oppose because if I don’t oppose, then the assumption from the court will be that everything claimed in the summons is the truth.”

Mnqandi added that he stood by what he wrote to the board.

“Those letters were written to the board because I was under the impression that it is the most disciplined structure of the BMF that is supposed to look after the interest of the BMF. How they [letters] found themselves in the public arena is beyond me. I wrote them because I care about the BMF.”

Mnqandi has written to the board asking if it would be representing him in facing what he called an “intimidation tactic”, or if he will be representing himself.

Motsei refused to comment, and instead asked Sowetan where it got the court papers from before hanging up the phone.

Sowetan