South African Airways’ interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Matshela Seshibe, was suspended from duties on August 14, 2026, according to reports published by several media outlets.
Seshibe had been in this post for just four months, having been appointed in April 2026, following the resignation of previous CEO, John Lamola.
Lamola took up the role of CEO in 2022, shortly after South African Airways completed a thorough restructuring. Between 2019 and 2021 South African Airways was virtually bankrupt and reduced to a skeleton fleet of only six aircraft (according to the ch-aviation database, as of August 2026, its fleet had grown to 19 aircraft). Lamola’s tenure as CEO was a relatively long period of stability for the airline, which has seen 15 CEOs since 2010.
However, Lamola’s resignation, along with that of the carrier’s acting Chief Financial Officer (CFO), who left the company just days before the closing of the 2025/26 financial year, and statements by South Africa’ Auditor-General questioning the probity of the company’s financial accounts, have again raised doubts regarding the financial standing of the airline.
While South African Airways posted a profit of 155 million Rand (US$9.5 million) in the 2024/25 fiscal year, the office of the Auditor-General claims the airline incurred a loss and questioned its future viability as an operating concern.
A statement posted on the carrier’s website said that the board “has resolved to place the Acting Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Matshela Seshibe, on special leave, with immediate effect, pending the outcome of an internal process”.
The same statement also announced the appointment of South African Airways’ Chief Legal Officer, Koekie Mbeki, as Acting Group Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.
While no specific reasons have been provided for the abrupt dismissal of Seshibe other than the board’s “commitment to the highest standards of good governance, accountability, integrity and leadership”, reports in South African media point towards the discovery of potential irregularities at Air Chefs, South African Airways’ catering subsidiary, which the suspended CEO had led in the past.