South African Airways has a new acting chief executive, and it is the third person to hold the job since April. The board announced on Friday 14 August that acting group CEO Matshela Seshibe had been placed on special leave with immediate effect, pending the outcome of an internal process. Koekie Mbeki, the airline's chief legal officer, takes over.
Nobody has said what the internal process is about. The board's statement did not disclose its nature, or say whether it relates to any allegations against Seshibe, and offered only that the decision reflected its commitment to good governance, accountability, integrity and leadership. Chairperson Sedzani Mudau said the board recognised the responsibility entrusted to it and would continue to act decisively and in the best interests of the airline and all of its stakeholders.
How SAA got here in four months
Seshibe stepped up in April, after Professor John Lamola resigned as chief executive. That handover came in the middle of a broader management shake-up: the airline's chief financial officer took early retirement and three independent board members resigned. Before the acting job, Seshibe ran Air Chefs, SAA's catering subsidiary, and had sat on the SAA board since 2024. Earlier this year the airline publicly defended his appointment, saying claims raised about a previous role had been fully considered and conclusively resolved, with the allegations found to be without merit.
The books behind the boardroom
The upheaval followed SAA's 2024/25 results, which drew scrutiny after the Auditor-General issued a disclaimer audit, the outcome an auditor reaches when it cannot give an opinion on the numbers at all. The airline had reported an operating profit of R336 million and a net profit of R155 million. The Auditor-General also found severe supply-chain governance lapses, noting that SAA did not apply the required preference point system for several bids and routinely bought goods and services through processes that were not fair, equitable, transparent and competitive. Air Chefs was among the units flagged, for awarding quotations to bidders who did not score the highest points and for lacking sufficient evidence files for the contracts it awarded.
Mbeki arrives with ten years at SAA behind her, and the board says that institutional knowledge will provide leadership, continuity and stability while the airline executes its strategy. The search for a permanent chief executive, announced when Lamola left in April, is still running.
