NATIONAL NEWS - Details of the despotic reign of former SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng were laid bare in parliament hours after the Cape Town High Court ruled that his latest appointment was unlawful.

As allegations emerged that the politically connected Gupta family attempted to take complete control of SABC news prior to the launch of their news channel, ANN7, a former staff member warned that the SABC management was “killing” the public broadcaster.

And SABC journalists fired for disobeying Motsoeneng’s decision not to show protest footage on SABC channels spoke of a culture of fear in which his decisions were backed by “enforcers”.

Puzzled members of parliament asked how Motsoeneng, who lied about having a matric qualification, managed to rule the SABC seemingly unchecked.

Former SABC IT executive Sipho Masinga told the inquiry that Nazeem Howa, former chief executive of Gupta-owned Oakbay Investments, presented the SABC with a three-page document detailing plans for the company to take over the public broadcaster’s news department.

Masinga said the meeting of SABC executives and Howa took place before ANN7’s launch in 2013.