Matshela Seshibe, South African Airways’ former acting group CEO, has withdrawn his urgent High Court application that sought to force the airline to interview him for the permanent SAA group CEO position. According to Daily Maverick, the matter had been set down for Tuesday 20 October 2026, and the withdrawal takes it off the urgent roll.
What was withdrawn and when
Daily Maverick reports that on Friday 16 October 2026, TGR Attorneys, acting for Seshibe, told SAA’s lawyers, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, that the application under case number 2026-252108 was being withdrawn. The hearing was due in the Gauteng Local Division in Johannesburg.
The application asked the court to order SAA to interview Seshibe for the permanent role, or to interdict the airline from appointing a permanent group CEO. ch-aviation reported that he filed the papers on 13 October 2026. Daily Maverick’s earlier report described the alternative relief as a freeze on the hiring process until his internal disciplinary matter is concluded.
Positions after the withdrawal
Daily Maverick reports that TGR said the withdrawal does not abandon the facts or complaints in Seshibe’s founding affidavit and is not a concession on the merits. The newspaper reads this as Seshibe reserving his rights, which could leave room for non-urgent action such as review proceedings, a labour dispute or a damages claim. That is Daily Maverick’s interpretation, not a statement from Seshibe.
SAA corporate affairs head Mphilo Dlamini confirmed the withdrawal and said the recruitment process will continue, according to the same report. He declined to give reasons, describing the matters as confidential and tied to the employment relationship. He said SAA remains committed to sound governance and due process.
How the dispute began
Seshibe became acting group CEO in April 2026 after John Lamola left, Business Day reported. On 14 August 2026 the SAA board announced that he was on special leave with immediate effect while an internal process ran its course, and appointed chief legal officer Koekie Mbeki as acting group CEO. Board chairperson Sedzani Mudau said the board would act in the best interests of the airline. The board did not say what the internal process involved. EWN carried the same board statement, which tied the decision to governance and accountability.
Daily Maverick’s report of the filing said confidential disciplinary charges were brought against Seshibe at Air Chefs, SAA’s catering subsidiary, where he previously served as CEO, and that he denies them. The charges were not detailed. It said SAA advertised the permanent post on 23 August, that Seshibe applied and was shortlisted, and that SAA then cancelled his interview and told him the charges excluded him from the process. The report noted that SAA had not directly confirmed that reason.
As we reported last week when he filed, Seshibe argued that he was disqualified over unproven charges, denied a fair hearing and had his reputation harmed. Ch-aviation said his affidavit argued SAA prejudged his suitability without letting him respond to the allegations behind the disciplinary case. He also said SAA did not answer a letter from his lawyers dated 7 October asking for an interview or a pause in hiring. These are Seshibe’s claims as filed. Before the withdrawal, SAA’s only public comment, from Dlamini, was that the matter was sub judice and would be handled through the appropriate legal processes.
Effect on the recruitment timeline
Daily Maverick reports that the board’s target is to appoint a permanent group CEO by the end of October 2026, and that withdrawal removes the immediate threat of an interdict. Dlamini’s statement that recruitment continues is consistent with that target, although SAA has not publicly confirmed a date in the material reviewed.
SAA has been without a permanent chief executive since Lamola’s departure at the end of April, ch-aviation reported. Business Day described Seshibe as the second consecutive acting CEO placed on special leave within months.
What remains unclear
Neither Seshibe nor his attorneys have said publicly why the application was withdrawn, and SAA has declined to discuss the reasons. Whether he intends to bring a further case, and when, is not stated. The disciplinary process that sits behind the dispute has not been concluded in any public account, and its charges and outcome are unknown.
None of the reports reviewed carried a position from the airline’s shareholder, the government, or the Department of Public Enterprises on the recruitment or on Seshibe’s leave. The shortlist for the permanent role has also not been made public.
