Court rules against ex-Civil Aviation Authority executive’s ‘false and malicious’ claims

The Pretoria High Court has ruled against a  former South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) executive who made false and malicious allegations against senior SACAA officials following the non-renewal of his fixed-term employment contract.

The court, which handed down judgment last month, found that Peter Mashaba’s actions also breached his employment contract with the authority.

SACAA dispute

At the heart of the dispute was the interdependence of the accident and incident investigation division (AIID) on SACAA involving the Cessna S550 calibration aircraft crash that claimed three lives five years ago.

Mashaba posted a voice clip on the Facebook aviation group FlyAfrica in which he insinuated that SACAA and its board of directors tried to influence some of the findings in an incident report involving SACAA’s own calibration aircraft crash in January  2020.

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Contract expires

During this time, Mashaba’s contract with the SACAA ended and was not renewed. The reasons for this have not been disclosed.

SACAA said Mashaba was notified a week before his contract expired on 6 September that it would not be renewed.

Mashaba then filed a dispute with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration (CCMA), claiming that he had a reasonable expectation of contract renewal.

He alleged that the Director of Civil Aviation’s (DCA) non-renewal of his contract amounted to victimisation, linking it to a purported warning he made regarding the tragic crash of the SACAA-operated Cessna S550.

‘False impression’

According to the SACAA, Mashaba made further statements, with the intent to create a “false impression, maliciously suggesting that the non-renewal of his fixed term contract was linked to information regarding the tragic aircraft accident.”

SACAA approached the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, demanding that Mashaba stop spreading false information and defaming senior employees.

“The court ruled in favour of SACAA on the cease-and-desist charge, ordering Mashaba to pay costs which remain unpaid to this day. SACAA is dealing with the recovery of its costs,” it said.

“Regarding the defamation case, SACAA demanded that Mashaba retract his defamatory statements. When he refused to do so, SACAA filed a defamation claim against him.”

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Court order

The court case was eventually resolved through a settlement agreement, with the High Court making an order last month.

It ordered Mashaba not to act in contravention of his fixed-term contract with the SACAA.

He was also ordered within 10 days to post a formal retraction of his statement on the Facebook aviation group FlyAfrica.

No compliance

However, SACAA spokesperson Sisa Majola said that despite the court order, Mashaba has failed to comply and remains in contempt of the court order.

“SACAA reserves the right to take further steps to enforce compliance. Additionally, Mashaba had previously lodged a complaint with the Public  Protector against the DCA and the SACAA board.

“However, the Public Protector found no substantiation for his allegations. Lastly, the labour dispute raised by Mashaba regarding the non-renewal of his contract was resolved in SACAA’s favour through both the CCMA and the Labour Court, which ruled that Mashaba was not unfairly dismissed, as his contract had expired,” Majola said.

Aircraft crash

The Cessna aeroplane took off from the airport at George in inclement weather and low clouds on 23 January 2020. Captain Thabiso Tolo, First Officer Tebogo Lekalakala, and Flight Inspector Gugu Comfort Mnguni were on board to perform a calibration flight.

The aircraft banked, rolled and pitched up and down before crashing into a peak of the Outeniqua mountains at high speed.

Calibration flights ensure all equipment at airports is accurate, safe, and complies with international aviation regulations.

Crash report

The final report by the AIIB was published on SACAA’s website on 23 January 2022.

It found the SACAA contravened a number of its own aviation regulations before the crash of its Cessna calibration aircraft in January 2020.

The most serious of the findings against the authority was that the aircraft was not maintained in accordance with the requirements of annual inspections. The certificate of airworthiness was thus rendered invalid.

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