South Africa's deputy president, Paul Mashatile, has welcomed findings by the country's Public Protector clearing him and transport minister Barbara Creecy of wrongdoing in the appointment of John Lamola, now the outgoing group CEO of South African Airways.

In a statement on April 13, Mashatile said Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka had "found no evidence" that the ministers had improperly interfered in the recruitment process or breached the executive ethics code. He said the findings also confirmed that media reports suggesting they held "private interviews" outside the formal selection process had been "misguided, misleading, and mischievous".

Mashatile's comments follow SAA's announcement late on April 8 that Lamola had resigned as group CEO, effective April 30, 2026. This followed the recent resignation of three SAA non-executive directors for "varying reasons", the airline said, while acting CFO Lindsay Olitzki retired shortly before financial year-end.

This comes after the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) issued a disclaimer of opinion for the SAA Group 2025 financial year results, noting internal control deficiencies such as inadequate oversight of subsidiary reporting and failure to implement action plans for prior-year audit findings. SAA had failed to comply with several Public Finance Management Act requirements, including the late submission of financial statements.

The AGSA also found that a significant asset was disposed of without necessary approvals, and there was no evidence of disciplinary steps taken against officials who incurred irregular or fruitless expenditure. Additionally, technical services revenue and maintenance costs at SAA's MRO arm, SAA Technical, lacked adequate records, and the group failed to record transactions on an accrual basis, leading to misstated operating costs.

Matshela Seshibe, CEO of SAA subsidiary Air Chefs, will step in as acting group CEO from May 1, with a new recruitment process to commence soon.

Seshibe's appointment has raised questions from corruption watchdog Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse about his lack of airline experience and his previous suspension in 2022 as CEO of the Public Investment Corporation-funded poultry producer Daybreak Farms, amid allegations of authorising millions of rands in irregular payments.

Breaches not substantiated

Meanwhile, in her 64-page closing report released March 31, Gcaleka found that allegations of abuse of power and ethical breaches in the appointment of Lamola in February 2025 were "not substantiated".

The investigation originated from a February 2025 complaint by Democratic Alliance member of parliament Willie Aucamp, who alleged that Lamola was a "political deployment" candidate pushed into the role despite receiving the lowest scores during the evaluation process.

However, the Public Protector found the recruitment process lawful and procedurally compliant. While the SAA board had shortlisted candidates, including preferred contender Allan Kilavuka, former group CEO of Kenya Airways, Creecy had the authority to make the final appointment as shareholder representative.

Gcaleka said Creecy exercised independent judgment, citing Lamola’s performance as acting CEO during a return to financial solvency. Before this permanent appointment, Lamola had served as the interim group CEO of SAA since May 1, 2022.