Matshela Seshibe has gone from running South African Airways to being let go by its kitchen. Air Chefs, the SAA subsidiary that prepares thousands of meals a day for SAA and other airlines, resolved at a board meeting on 30 October to end his employment, according to a letter reported by Business Times.
He knew the place well. Seshibe took over as Air Chefs' chief executive in October 2024, and in April 2026 he was made acting chief executive of SAA while the airline looked for a permanent one. Four months into that job, SAA put him on special leave so that a disciplinary case brought by Air Chefs could run its course.
Four of six charges upheld
The case was heard by Basheer Waglay, a retired Judge President of the Labour Court, and his outcome found Seshibe guilty on four of the six charges. Two were about raises he approved for two executives without the board's approval, which the judge ruled broke Air Chefs' rules on who may sign off what. A third was an acting allowance that lifted one employee's pay by more than the 15% that company policy allows. Waglay cleared him of two others, including a charge that he illegally created a new manager post.
The fourth was about a colleague. Seshibe was found to have failed to declare and manage his close relationship with executive Zandile Mzilikazi, whose promotions and pay increases he had driven, and the judge pointed to private WhatsApp messages and holiday photos that took it past ordinary workplace boundaries. When Seshibe moved up to SAA, Mzilikazi became acting chief executive of Air Chefs.
A shorter notice period at a company short of cash
The board took Waglay's advice to dismiss him, but shortened his notice to one month instead of the three the judge recommended, pointing to the company's financial position and liquidity. Money is tight across the group. In September and October SAA staggered salary payments for pilots, specialists and management for the first time since it left business rescue.
Seshibe disputes all of it. In a statement to News24 he said he disagreed "unequivocally" with the dismissal, and that Waglay "expressly found that my conduct did not involve dishonesty". He told the Sunday Times he was considering legal action.
The dismissal letter gives him 30 days to take the matter to the CCMA, the labour dispute body. SAA told the Sunday Times only that it was an internal employment matter.
