CLEANING HOUSE: World body orders Athletics SA overhaul after president ousted for financial misconduct

South African sports administration is constantly in the news for negative reasons, even as athletes work to fly the country’s flag high. In the latest incident, Athletics South Africa (ASA) has been given a six-month ultimatum by World Athletics to overhaul its leadership structure and constitution.

The move comes after Athletics South Africa’s (ASA) president, James Moloi, was found guilty of misusing the federation’s credit card as a personal slush fund. An independent panel, chaired by retired Judge President Basheer Waglay, recommended his immediate removal from the presidency and the board.

In their 55-page report, the panel said: “Moloi would not benefit from corrective steps as he has not admitted his guilt or shown remorse for these transactions. Although he apologised to the board, before us he maintained throughout that every transaction was business-related. His evidence shows explanation after explanation in an attempt to justify why these expenses were business-related, when it is clear they were not.”

Soon after the report’s release, World Athletics stepped in and ordered ASA to execute a major structural overhaul or risk a ban. The global governing body specifically mandated that ASA act on the Waglay panel’s findings and strip Moloi of his presidency, board seat and operational involvement.

ASA removes Moloi

ASA spokesperson Sifiso Cele confirmed to Daily Maverick that the federation had already complied with this initial mandate, but declined to elaborate on the specific details of Moloi’s removal.

On Wednesday, 21 October, Sunday World revealed that ASA’s long-time acting CEO, Terrence Magogodela, had written to council members to confirm Moloi’s departure.

“The board of ASA has taken cognisance of the contents of the report furnished by the disciplinary enquiry panel that found Moloi guilty ... of some of the charges ... against [him] pertaining to ... abuse of ... ASA’s credit card issued to [him],” wrote Magogodela.

“The ASA board took cognisance of the recommendations in respect of the sanction that should be imposed on him. The board has consequently resolved to give effect to the findings and recommended sanctions and hereby notifies all members of its decision to remove James Moloi as president of ASA and as a member of the ASA board with immediate effect.”

Governance deficiencies

Removing Moloi addresses only the first of ASA’s challenges. World Athletics still requires significant additional reforms before the risk of a global competition ban for South African athletes is removed.

In a letter dated October 15, World Athletics noted that it had tasked Zakhele Dlamini – president of the Southern African Confederation of Athletics and vice-president of the Confederation of African Athletics – with conducting a fact-finding mission in South Africa the previous month.

World Athletics said Dlamini’s report had identified “serious deficiencies in the governance and functioning of ASA, including divisions within the executive board, difficulties in collective decision-making, uncertainty regarding the authority of elected officials and the validity of certain decisions, as well as conflicts of interest arising from overlapping responsibilities at national and provincial levels.

“These difficulties have contributed to institutional instability and are considered to have affected ASA’s ability to discharge its constitutional obligations and responsibilities effectively, including towards its athletes,” read the letter, signed by World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon.

“Furthermore, World Athletics is particularly concerned that these issues reflect structural weaknesses in ASA’s governance framework, rather than isolated incidents or disagreements between individuals, and thus require a comprehensive and lasting solution.”

This solution includes ASA drafting a revised constitution and holding elections to install a completely new board. Moloi and the current board were elected in May 2025. Moloi’s second successive term as ASA boss was expected to end in 2029.

World Athletics noted that ASA had recently submitted a draft constitution, which “does not yet adequately address certain governance principles”.

The South African athletics body now has six months to enforce the mandate set by its global counterpart, or face suspension from international competitions.

CEO search halted

Through spokesperson Cele, ASA confirmed that its search for a permanent CEO in place of Magogodela, who has been acting since December 2020, has been paused until it meets the requirements set by World Athletics.

“The search [for a permanent CEO] can only be undertaken once the new constitution and the governance structures demanded by World Athletics are in place,” said Cele.

In May 2026, acting ASA president John Mathane told journalists that the organisation had opened applications for a new CEO to replace Magogodela.

Although he maintained his innocence throughout, in 2024 Magogodela had to pay the Special Investigating Unit R388,733 for his involvement in the squandering of National Lotteries Commission funds meant to develop a sports facility. This included legal costs.

The acting CEO will continue in his role as ASA works to fulfil World Athletics’ directives. ASA is merely the latest South African sports federation to find itself embroiled in such a crisis.

Turmoil in SA sports bodies

After years of alleged mismanagement and scandals, Swimming South Africa president Alan Fritz and chief executive officer Shaun Adriaanse were stripped of their powers by the sport’s highest authority in August.

They were suspended over “potential violations of the World Aquatics Integrity Code, including abuse of power and the provision of false information and fake documents”.

Former Netball South Africa president Cecilia Molokwane remains suspended from the sport, pending the outcome of an investigation by World Netball. She is under the spotlight for alleged misconduct and financial maladministration while at the helm.

In November 2024, South African Football Association president Danny Jordaan was arrested and charged with fraud. He was detained alongside the federation’s financial officer, Gronie Hluyo, and PR company owner Trevor Neethling.

At a recent press conference, where he was seated next to Jordaan, Sport, Art and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie credited his department for the mass administrative probes in South African sports.

“People are being suspended now because we are cleaning house. Go to swimming, people are gone. You go to ASA, people are gone. You go to Sascoc [South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee], people are gone,” McKenzie boasted.

“We are not done yet. We are going to clean house. It’s just that we don’t make a noise about it. But we are fixing stuff. We are not there yet, but we are fixing things.”

However, just a year ago McKenzie dismissed the notion of rot in South African sports administration. At the time, he even went as far as praising the recently suspended Sascoc president, Barry Hendricks. DM