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By Mervyn Naidoo, Lethu Nxumalo 
47m ago
Durban – Judge Zak Yacoob’s three-month term with Cricket SA (CSA) ended abruptly this week after a nearly 40-minute recorded conversation between him and Tiisetso Malepa, a journalist, circulated on social media.
Judge Yacoob is heard repeatedly referring to Malepa as “idiot”, “irresponsible” and “dishonest”.
Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa also listened to the recording. After speaking with Yacoob, it was agreed that the judge should abstain from chairing the CSA board.
That prompted CSA on Wednesday to release a statement announcing that Yacoob had “sincerely expressed remorse” for the statements and had resigned, in the best interest of cricket.
Since then, Dr. Stavros Nicolaou has been appointed the new chairman of the board until February 15.
By then, Yacoob had already been widely criticized for the verbal attack on Malepa, with some commentators saying that the outburst was a display of improper behavior on the part of a judge.
Yacoob replied that “no one talks about the lies that he (Malepa) raised, which he also shared with the minister (Mthethwa).”
He was referring to the questions Malepa sent him by email on the night of January 13, which was the preamble to the telephone conversation, the next morning, which went ballistic and has since gone viral.
Two issues in particular were raised in the email, which angered Yacoob.
The first was about him allegedly intimidating Kugandrie Govender, the interim CEO of the suspended CSA, and his offer of R5000, out of his own pocket, for his legal costs.
The other question Yacoob challenged was Malepa’s claim that he had a bribery charge pending against him before the Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration Commission (CCMA) and the matter had been postponed several times.
Malepa was referring to earlier media reports in 2019, relating to the firing of Shamilla Surjoo, former director of KZN’s Society for the Blind and Deaf, over certain governance allegations.
Yacoob was the president of the society at the time.
She told the Sunday Tribune that before Surjoo’s matter reached the CCMA, he approached her about an investigation into her work and asked how much money she needed to leave the organization, which she was willing to pay out of pocket.
That way, Yacoob believed that it would prevent the society from having to pay Surjoo and incur additional costs at a CCMA hearing, and she could walk away.
Yacoob said the media reported his offer as a bribe.
He said the matter reached the CCMA and the bribery charge was never raised there. Before the matter was resolved, Yacoob said that he had resigned from the partnership and Sarjoo was later transferred to another position within the organization.
“That was not a bribe. He wasn’t asking her to do anything immoral. That is a lie. When someone talks about me like that and hasn’t verified their facts, I’m afraid I’m not going to favor them with a direct denial ”.
Yacoob said it was an exaggeration to tell the minister that “I am the object of bribery processes that are still pending. That was opportunism and mischief ”.
Surjoo said: “My matter was discussed at the CCMA and I am still with the organization and do not want to comment further.”
About making a money offer to Govender, Yacoob said it was also a “goodwill gesture.”
“I also offered Kugendire (Govender) money when I asked her questions at a board meeting because she sounded uncomfortable.
“I told her that I was sorry that she was uncomfortable with the questions we were asking her. I told her I’d give her R5000 out of my own pocket to get a lawyer to be with her because we were going to ask tough questions. ”Govender rejected Yacoob’s offer.
“That is not bribery in any way.” Regarding his tenure at CSA, Yacoob explained that officials, especially those who earned huge salaries, should not be “treated with kid gloves.”
“They must be held accountable for their actions.”
He explained that there were all kinds of complaints in the organization and that he was there to “clean things up.”
“You question everything and don’t take anything at face value. So my approach was strict and straightforward and holding everyone accountable.
“The terrain dictated my firm approach, as there were a lot of dirty businesses and people wanted to burn the cleaning brush.”
Govender said that it would not be appropriate for her to comment on the issues raised at this stage as her hearing was still pending.
“I have no problem with being transparent. If the hearing is fair, I am confident that I will be exonerated of the charges against me, ”Govender said.
Yacoob said that if Malepa had called him a few days later, he might have spoken to him differently, but at the time of the call the issues were “ripe” in his head.
“My opinion is that journalists are powerful people who can write and do all kinds of things. Surely it is my freedom of expression, in a private phone call, to say that you are a liar and a scoundrel.
“I have the right to express my anger. It doesn’t ask if I was involved in a bribery investigation, but it does say so. I could have checked with the CCMA. “
Yacoob said that when someone lies about him, regardless of whether he was a judge or not, his response would not be measured.
“I am a human being. I would like to see a judge who has been lied about handle this in a measured way.”
He said that his integrity has always been very important to him.
“I value my integrity more than life,” Yacoob said.
When approached for comment, Malepa said, “I’m not doing interviews on the judge’s issue.”
The Sports Ministry was contacted for comment and forwarded the statement it issued earlier this week.
Sunday grandstand
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