Hlaudi Motsoeneng joined the SABC in the 1990s in a junior capacity and rose to Acting COO by 2012 — a remarkable ascent given that he did not possess a matric certificate, a fact established by the Public Protector and confirmed in subsequent court proceedings.
The Public Protector's February 2014 report "When Governance and Ethics Fail" found that Motsoeneng had lied about his qualifications, received irregular salary increases (his salary reached approximately R3.7 million per year), interfered with editorial decisions, and purged staff who challenged him. The report recommended his removal and the recovery of irregular payments.
Despite these findings, the SABC board — chaired by Ellen Tshabalala, who was herself later found to have claimed a PhD she did not possess — permanently appointed Motsoeneng as COO and refused to implement the Public Protector's recommendations. Minister of Communications Faith Muthambi shielded Motsoeneng from accountability.
In 2016, Motsoeneng imposed an editorial policy banning SABC from broadcasting footage of violent public protests. Eight SABC journalists — Suna Venter, Foeta Krige, Jacques Steenkamp, Busisiwe Ntuli, Lukhanyo Calata, Krivani Pillay, Thandeka Gqubule, and Vuyo Mvoko — defied the ban and were suspended or subjected to disciplinary proceedings. They became known as the "SABC 8" and their case became a landmark press freedom battle. Courts ordered their reinstatement and struck down the censorship policy. Tragically, Suna Venter died in June 2017 at age 32 from a stress-related heart attack attributed to sustained pressure and harassment.
Motsoeneng conducted a systematic purge of experienced SABC staff, appointed loyalists without proper recruitment processes, and awarded himself an R11 million performance bonus in 2016 despite the SABC's financial crisis. He unilaterally imposed a 90% local music content policy on SABC radio stations, bypassing ICASA's regulatory authority.
The financial destruction was catastrophic. Under Motsoeneng, the SABC accumulated over R1 billion in irregular expenditure, revenue declined as advertisers withdrew, and the entity required a R3.2 billion government bailout in 2018. Multiple irregular contracts were entered into, including deals linked to the Gupta-owned New Age newspaper for "breakfast briefings."
The Zondo Commission's Part 1 report (January 2022) found that the SABC board was captured and served political interests rather than the public, Motsoeneng acted with impunity because of political protection, and the SABC was used as a propaganda tool for the ruling party. Minister Muthambi was found to have actively interfered with SABC operations.
Motsoeneng was finally fired in October 2017. He founded the African Content Movement (ACM) political party in 2019, which failed to win significant support.