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Johannesburg - Former SAA CEO Khaya Ngqula's lawyer has informed the airline's former chairperson, Cheryl Carolus, that he intends to sue her for R40m for defamation, Business Day reported on Tuesday.
Lawyer Themba Langa told the paper "we are going to sue
her".
This was reportedly because Carolus - who quit the SA
Airways board last week - told the Business Times on September 30 that the SAA
board had made progress in tackling labour, competition, fraud and corruption
problems which the airline had "inherited from previous management".
In the letter to Carolus, Langa said, on behalf of Ngqula:
"We are of the view that reference to 'previous management' was intended
by you to imply management that operated under the leadership of our client.
"It is this false and unreasonable imputation that has
caused us to write this correspondence to you."
Langa said Carolus had until Tuesday to respond to the
letter or pay Ngqula R40m.
"She must withdraw and apologise or she must provide
proof or we will sue her."
The SAA board is currently suing Ngqula, who left the
airline in 2009, to recover about R252m from him in four separate claims
following a forensic investigation by auditors KPMG.
SAA CEO Siza Mzimela and two other senior managers resigned from the airline this week, barely two weeks after most of the board also quit, saying there was a lack of support from its shareholder, the public enterprises department.
