Boardroom Talk: Five times cleared, defamed Mahloele mission is SA introduction of punitive damages

By Alec Hogg.Five years ago, Harith founder Tshepo Mahloele invited me to hear his response to many allegations about him plastered in the popular press. A low-profile entrepreneur, Mahloele's attempted response was ignored by a media corps which had picked a side, swallowing politician Bantu Holomisa's allegations he was the kingpin of a corrupt network..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Our three-hour meeting was an eye-opener. Mahloele's openness and repeated offer to expose whatever I wanted to see were impressive. But, after calling around, so, too, was his reputation. He had been a member of FirstRand's "Class of…" with Michael Jordaan and Herman Bosman – and appeared to have carried those values into his enterprises..Our relationship evolved into a business partnership after he acquired a small share in BizNews ahead of acquiring ownership of the media company now known as Arena. Throughout all these years, I have never had reason to doubt that what he told me in 2018 was 100% correct..Yesterday, a fifth investigation concluded what the other four had done – Holomisa's potentially ruinous allegations were baseless. So now Mahloele wants blood, specifically punitive damages, taking his argument to the Constitutional Court if necessary. Because without such a deterrent, he says, there are sure to be more of these no-consequence type attacks by other Holomisas. He has a point..More for you to read:.Meet Dr Marc Liebscher, the German White Knight riding to the rescue of Steinhoff's retail shareholders. Click here.Prof. Tim Noakes explains how humans evolved to eat fat and protein and how carbohydrates have led to the prevalent diabetes and obesity pandemics. Click here.A new paper co-authored by Wharton's Nikolai Roussanov uses machine learning to construct investment portfolios that ensure predictability of returns in a world of changing risks. Click here..In 2018, parliamentarian Bantu Holomisa went public with a slew of allegations against Harith founder Tshepo Mahloele – accusing him of being the kingpin in a network of corruption and worse than the Guptas. After being cleared by a fifth successive investigation, this time by the PIC and GEPF, Mahloele is moving onto the offensive, launching a campaign for South Africa to introduce US-style punitive damages – starting with the politician. Mahloele says the cost to his businesses of these baseless allegations runs into hundreds of millions of rand, including the aborting of numerous business opportunities caused by what has now been proved to be Holomisa's lies. He says a proper deterrent is needed to force appropriate consequences onto those who destroy through propagating falsehoods. Mahloele spoke to Alec Hogg of BizNews.

Boardroom Talk: Five times cleared, defamed Mahloele mission is SA introduction of punitive damages

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