The Northern Cape High Court has dismissed urgent applications by two suspended Northern Cape Cricket (NCC) executives seeking to halt their disciplinary hearings, ruling that the matter falls outside the court’s jurisdiction and must be heard by the Labour Court.
Judge Danie Olivier on Friday, 24 October, struck down applications by Thapelo January, NCC’s suspended chief executive, and Mbulelo Bosman, a suspended employee and former director. Both sought to prevent disciplinary proceedings against them pending the outcome of their CCMA cases challenging their suspensions. Both represented themselves in court.
The ruling represents the latest chapter in a protracted legal battle that has engulfed NCC since February, when Cricket South Africa (CSA) exercised dramatic step-in rights to dissolve NCC’s board of directors and appoint administrator Jesse Chellan to take control of the provincial body.
Origins of the crisis
The conflict traces back to 30 October 2021, when irregularities at NCC’s annual general meeting (AGM) triggered a chain of events. Ferdinand David Bitterbosch, president of the Pixley ka Seme region, brought an application seeking declarations of delinquency against five NCC directors, including January and Bosman.
At that AGM, Frances Baard Cricket Association sent five delegates who each voted individually, directly contravening the Memorandum of Incorporation (MoI), which stipulated that each associate member could send only one representative. This irregularity led to the election of Gibson Molale as president and other respondents as directors despite their ineligibility.
On 21 February, acting deputy Judge President Mpho Catherine Mamosebo delivered a scathing judgement declaring all five directors delinquent under the Companies Act, finding systematic dysfunction involving gross negligence, wilful misconduct, and breach of trust.
CEO’s questionable appointment
January’s situation proved particularly problematic. Despite his director term expiring in December 2022, he remained listed on records of the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). He was appointed CEO on 1 January 2023, despite failing to meet advertised minimum requirements including a business degree and ten years’ business experience.
A forensic investigation by Mazars revealed egregious financial misconduct. January approved payment of R553 723 to Creative Solutions for services allegedly never rendered. Also, Bokamoso Trading received R175 596 for work allegedly already performed by other suppliers. The Mazars report concluded that January allegedly “deliberately authorised fraudulent payments.”
Bosman, as finance committee chairman, failed to produce financial statements from April 2022 onwards, violating requirements for maintaining proper accounting records. The board failed to hold minimum required meetings, compounding the governance crisis.
An application for leave to appeal the delinquency declarations was refused on 15 August.
Administrator steps in
Against this backdrop, CSA invoked its MoI on 12 February, dissolving NCC’s board and appointing Chellan as administrator. On 13 May, NCC suspended January and Bosman based on preliminary audit findings pending full forensic investigations, which have since been completed.
Both received notice of their disciplinary hearings on 16 September – January’s for 15 and 16 October, and Bosman’s for 13 and 14 October. Both waited until 7 October to launch ultra-urgent applications, giving respondents only three days to respond.
Their applications, heard simultaneously on 10 October, sought to prevent proceedings pending their CCMA cases. Both argued that Chellan lacked lawful authority to discipline them, characterising CSA’s intervention as unlawful.
Suspicious medical claims
When the hearings proceeded in mid-October, both applicants failed to appear, claiming sudden medical incapacity. Both submitted medical certificates on the very mornings their hearings were scheduled.
January submitted a doctor’s note the evening before his hearing on 15 October. Despite claiming incapacity, he simultaneously filed a formal recusal application against the chairperson and produced voluminous legal submissions.
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Bosman’s pattern proved remarkably similar. At 07:34 on 13 October, he claimed hospitalisation at Mediclinic Gariep, initially providing only unsigned hospital stickers. When pressed, he submitted a certificate stating merely “patient was admitted to hospital medical condition” without detail.
Both then engaged in extensive email correspondence, filing detailed objections, challenging the chairpersons’ authority, claiming violations of medical confidentiality under Popia and the Constitution, and threatening legal action.
In a supplementary affidavit, Chellan characterised this behaviour as demonstrating mala fides in the extreme.
“The very timing of the applicants’ mysterious illnesses, and their obvious labour-intensive efforts in producing voluminous objections and applications, serve only to demonstrate that they were never unwell as claimed,” he stated.
Court’s decision
The respondents argued both applicants failed to demonstrate exceptional circumstances required to justify judicial intervention in incomplete disciplinary proceedings, noting they have alternative remedies through CCMA arbitration and potential Labour Court review.
- With their High Court bid defeated, January and Bosman must now face their disciplinary hearings, rescheduled for 28 and 29 October.
