SAA acting CEO Matshela Seshibe responds: Daybreak not linked to suspension

This story has significance for readers across Africa and beyond.

On 14 August 2026, the SAA Board placed Acting Group CEO Matshela Seshibe on immediate special leave pending an internal review to safeguard the interests of SAA and uphold governance standards.

This sudden suspension coincided with a formal request by the Democratic Alliance to President Cyril Ramaphosa for a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probe into the collapse of Daybreak Foods, backed by leaked forensic findings.

On 20 August 2026, Seshibe issued a formal response to Daily Maverick to clear his name on the Daybreak front, and we have also obtained a copy of the report to check it against.

Blue apple fell from Daybreak tree

Among the litany of Daybreak Foodsâ problematic payments during Seshibeâs tenure is the R7.3-million invoice in May 2022 for a company rebranding. While marketing agency Blue Apple Tree usually charged Daybreak an hourly rate of R1,800 for its services, that rate was slashed to R800 for brand specialist billables.

Seshibe asserts that Blue Apple Tree was an external brand consultancy whose relationship with Daybreak was established well before his arrival as CEO on 30 May 2022.

The Fundudzi report â which is the result of Seshibeâs commissioned investigation â records engagements with former Daybreak spokesperson Cedric Mamaboloâs firm dating back to August 2020, involving the Daybreak board and company secretary rather than Seshibe himself.

The 2022 Integrated Brand Marketing Communications appointment letter was signed on 20 April 2022 by then acting CEO Jack Nkogatse, with CFO Vangile Masisi signing on 25 April, and legal manager Busisiwe Nyatsumba also signing as a signatory. The six-month engagement ran from 21 April 2022 to 22 October 2022.

It was only the invoice that was submitted and paid after Seshibe got his feet under the desk.

âI did not sign off on any payments to Blue Apple Tree during the approximately five months that I served as CEO.â

He pointed Daily Maverick to Fundudziâs paragraph 5.6.2.19, which records that CFO Masisi confirmed she was responsible for approving payments to Blue Apple Tree, while company secretary Kgabo Mapotse confirmed that Blue Apple Tree had rendered the services billed.

A parallel PIC-led audit by Nexus Forensic Services (cited in Daybreakâs Business Rescue Plan) found that Blue Apple Tree actually received more than R36-million for services that were unjustified or never rendered.

Nexus concluded that company secretary Mapotse and Blue Apple Tree owner Mamabolo had colluded to defraud Daybreak. Mapotse allegedly used a forged electronic signature of board chairperson Lerato Nage to approve invoices. Nexus recommended criminal charges under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.

What went down at Ellis Park

Ironically, these revelations come in the week leading up to a Springboks vs All Blacks Test at Ellis Park, which was the scene of an infamous R890,000 hospitality soiree â that came with a branded party bus â in August 2022.

Seshibe strongly denies that a highly controversial luxury suite package at a Springbok rugby match was a personal event.

âAbout one month into my tenure as CEO, the Daybreak Foods board organised a stakeholder engagement session with key stakeholders, principally broiler farmers, who were vital to Daybreak Foodsâ operations... Board members and executives hosted the broiler, and the entire group was no more than about 25 people... The board commissioned Blue Apple Tree to manage the event.â

Seshibe maintains that because it was a board-organised stakeholder activity, it cannot be categorised as a personal or private event for him.

Among the many allegations that littered the media upon his eventual suspension at Daybreak â allegedly for doing too good a job of cleaning up the chicken business and turning a profit â Seshibe singled out two to address directly.

Malahlela/Black-White Attorneys:

He points out that the appointment of this law firm â accused of charging grossly inflated fees to purge whistleblowing Daybreak executives â predated his arrival.

âMalahlela and Company Attorneys/Black-White... appointment also substantially predated my tenure. Fundudzi records that the Daybreak Foods board initiated the appointment, that Company Secretary Kgabo Mapotse recommended the appointment, and that then-board chair Lerato Nage approved it in January 2021.â

The Fundudzi report confirms that the appointment of Malahlela & Co/Black-White indeed occurred in January 2021, and was handled by Mapotse and Nage. Daily Maverick has also seen a cache of invoices for the legal services that predate Seshibeâs tenure.

Schaefer-Schmidt hair salon

Seshibe explained that the report contains no finding that he authorised or approved expenditure for Schaefer-Schmidt (a firm the DAâs Andrew Bateman â who is leading the call for an SIU probe â found to be registered as a hair salon that was allegedly contracted to run a âshamâ internal investigation to get rid of whistleblowers).

Fundudzi did not pursue the details of the Schaefer-Schmidt contract because the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) was already conducting a separate, independent investigation into the former Daybreak boardâs involvement in those appointments.

The definitive denial

Seshibe strongly denies that he terminated or covered up the forensic investigation that he commissioned

âI did not stop the Fundudzi forensic investigation. I instructed Fundudzi not to duplicate specific areas of work that were being taken over by a separate shareholder-initiated forensic process... In those circumstances, it made no sense for Daybreak Foods to fund two forensic firms to investigate the same issues in parallel.â

He explains that by the end of November 2022, the PIC had already appointed Nexus Forensic Services to investigate Malahlela, Schaefer-Schmidt and Blue Apple Tree.

He also allegedly (although Daily Maverick could not confirm this officially) instructed Fundudzi on 1 December 2022 to suspend those specific areas and redirect their attention toward investigating the role of internal Daybreak officials in the supply chain management failures.

The Fundudzi report records that after Seshibeâs departure and suspension in December 2022, investigators were briefly allowed to resume.

However, they were soon instructed by Daybreak director Richard Manzini to finalise and close the report without completing the outstanding investigative loops.

The final report was addressed for the attention of Manzini.

What is verifiable on the public record is Seshibeâs boasts of leaving Daybreak Foods in an excellent financial position:

âWithin my five to six months, Daybreak Foods had R400-million on its balance sheet and a further R200-million in available facilities.â

The serial CEO also maintains his innocence and a similar commitment to turning SAA around financially â and is waiting alongside Daily Maverick for the national carrierâs board to provide a reason for placing him on special leave.

When Daily Maverick asked South Africaâs shareholding representative for all things SAA-related (read: Transport Minister Barbara Creecy), the response was supportive of the airline board.

âThe Ministry has noted and respects the SAA Boardâs decision in this regard.â DM

Reporting originally appeared via Daily Maverick. Read the full source for additional context.