The Black Management Forum has placed its president, Mpho Motsei, on precautionary suspension, pending an independent disciplinary process that follows the board’s adoption of an interim report compiled by its Committee of Stalwarts. Two other directors, Western Cape chairperson Sonwabile Xwayi and Mpumalanga chairperson Thulani Mlangeni, have been suspended alongside him under the same resolution framework.
In a statement issued on 9 July, the organisation stressed that the suspensions carry no finding of guilt and are intended purely as interim governance measures to protect the independence and credibility of the disciplinary process while it runs its course. Deputy president Lilly Moabi will act in the office of president for the duration, and the BMF said its board and management structures continue to operate under its Memorandum of Incorporation.
| Individuals suspended | Mpho Motsei (President), Sonwabile Xwayi (Western Cape Chair), Thulani Mlangeni (Mpumalanga Chair) |
| Basis | Interim Report of the Committee of Stalwarts, adopted by the BMF Board |
| Acting president | Lilly Moabi, Deputy President |
| Status of suspension | Precautionary; not a finding of guilt |
| Process underway | Independent disciplinary investigation |
| Statement date | 9 July 2026 |
| Managing Director | Monde Ndlovu, responsible for daily administration |
The suspensions follow a report by a committee of BMF stalwarts, chaired by former BMF chairperson and MK Party MP Mzwanele Manyi, which investigated complaints against Motsei and directors of the organisation’s investment arm, BMF Investments. The committee found that board members had approved a 25 percent increase in their own remuneration without shareholder approval, and that a dividend had been declared in a manner it believed breached section 46 of the Companies Act. It also flagged that the Limpopo provincial chairperson had not been properly elected, since no annual general meeting was held after Motsei vacated that seat in 2024.
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Motsei has disputed the process, having previously suspended seven directors of his own, none of whom were named in the stalwarts’ findings, a move critics have characterised as retaliatory. He maintains the precautionary measures against him carry no conclusions and has framed the internal dispute as an attempt by rival factions to capture the organisation, pointing to South Africa’s broader history of institutional governance failures as context for the turmoil. The clash follows a separate defamation suit Motsei filed in the South Gauteng High Court, seeking R2.5 million in damages from former board member Papama Mnqandi over allegations that he had presided over what she termed a “BMF heist.”
The dispute is not the organisation’s first governance crisis in recent years. In 2024, a labour court found that an earlier suspension of a different BMF office bearer, then-president Sandra Vilakazi, had been procedurally unlawful, after the matter kept the organisation without a sitting president for roughly nine months. That ruling has since shaped how the board has approached the current suspensions, with this week’s statement emphasising procedural fairness and adherence to the Memorandum of Incorporation.
Founded in 1976, the BMF has spent five decades advocating for the socio-economic transformation of South African managerial and corporate leadership, positioning itself as a non-political, non-racial and non-sexist body representing black professionals across the private and public sectors. Its credibility on governance matters carries particular weight given that mandate, and the organisation’s ability to resolve the current dispute through a transparent, lawful process is likely to be closely watched by its corporate members and broader stakeholders, many of whom rely on the BMF’s standing in transformation and leadership development circles.