---
title: "SAA says CEO suspension unrelated to DA’s latest Daybreak Foods findings"
description: "The DA wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa asking for a full SIU investigation into Daybreak Foods on the same day the SAA board suspended its former acting CEO. We asked SAA about it, and it says there is no link."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "LINK DENIED"
author: "Lindsey Schutters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/lindsey-schutters-2/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-19-saa-says-ceo-suspension-unrelated-to-da-s-latest-daybreak-foods-findings/"
published: "2026-08-19T20:58:55"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 665
---

# SAA says CEO suspension unrelated to DA’s latest Daybreak Foods findings

> The DA wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa asking for a full SIU investigation into Daybreak Foods on the same day the SAA board suspended its former acting CEO. We asked SAA about it, and it says there is no link.

By Lindsey Schutters · Published 19 August 2026, 22:58 SAST

## Key points
- SAA put former acting Group CEO Matshela Seshibe on immediate special leave while the DA, on the same day, asked President Ramaphosa for an SIU probe into Daybreak Foods — SAA insists the two moves are unrelated and the matter is being handled internally.
- A leaked Fundudzi forensic report says Daybreak paid R26.8m to Blue Apple Tree for branding work with no approved budget or proper contract, most of it billed between May-August 2022 after Seshibe became Daybreak CEO.
- The report alleges Blue Apple Tree inflated invoices by R12.87m (incl. VAT); Daybreak’s CFO flagged the bills, investigators were blocked in Dec 2022 on Seshibe’s instruction, and the probe was later closed without completing key lines of inquiry.
- The timing casts doubt on SAA’s April 2026 due diligence and raises fresh questions about the integrity of the airline’s multibillion‑rand turnaround. Read the full story for the invoice breakdown and potential fallout.

## Content

When Daily Maverick asked SAA whether Matshela Seshibe’s special leave was a reaction to the [DA’s revelations](https://www.da.org.za/2026/08/da-seeks-siu-investigation-into-daybreak-foods-collapse-as-new-forensic-evidence-emerges) in the ongoing Daybreak Foods saga – which implicated the airline’s former acting CEO – the national carrier was quick with the comment:

“No, it’s not true. This is pure speculation. And SAA is handling the matter internally and is sticking to and standing by \[the\] statement issued on the matter.”

The timing is very coincidental.

[For context:

SAA acting CEO put on immediate special leave as board conducts internal investigation

August 14, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/Rw6FR6tK375e6RnTSvhYCW3DQo8=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/2992/Powerchat-SAA2_129574.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-14-saa-acting-ceo-put-on-immediate-special-leave-as-board-conducts-internal-investigation/)

According to the leaked Fundudzi Forensic Services report obtained by the Democratic Alliance, Daybreak Foods paid R26.8-million to Blue Apple Tree Brand Consultancy and Design for “Integrated Brand Marketing Communications”. This expenditure occurred despite there being no approved budget and no agreed contract amount.

The bulk of this money was paid across four highly questionable invoices billed between May and August 2022, immediately following Matshela Seshibe’s appointment as Daybreak CEO in May 2022:

> **May 2022: R7.3m**
> **Services billed:** Identity Manual Brand Strategy Development, Brand Refinement, Brand Guideline Booklet, and three websites.
>
> **June 2022: R5.4m**
> **Services billed:** An “Acting CEO’s luncheon”, a “School Hand Over”, “Corporate Branded Promotional Items” for 80 people, and 3,500 copies of a newsletter magazine.
>
> **July 2022: R4.8m**
> **Services billed:** R1,500,000 for 3,500 copies of the June newsletter magazine. A zero-cost line item for “CEO Corporate Images” (including photography, interviewing, videography and story writing). R2,094,000 for “CEO Induction Events” at several operational sites – including the Head Office, Delmas Abattoirs, Sundra Abattoirs, Kinross Feedmill, Breeders & Hatchery Division Bela Bela, and Delmas Farmers/Vet (featuring photography, videography, drone videography and video editing for each venue). R726,000 for branded corporate wear and promotional items for just 50 people (equivalent to R14,520 per person).
>
> **August 2022: R4.9m**
> **Services billed:** R1,500,000 for 3,500 copies of the August newsletter magazine. R890,000 for “Rugby Game Hospitality”, which included “Board and CEO Transport”, a “Branded Party Bus”, a corporate suite with catering, rugby T-shirts, branded flags, party bus refreshments and photography. R1,800,000 for head office signage. R349,000 for “Event Coverage – Mandela Day” at Bela-Bela and Delmas (including photography, videography, drone videography and video editing).

### **Anatomy of a fraud**

Fundudzi found that Blue Apple Tree charged a flat rate of R1,800 per hour per resource. However, the approved contract rate of R1,800 was meant to be a combined rate split across four resources (with the brand specialist component capped at R800 per hour).

The report concluded that Blue Apple Tree had inflated its invoices by R12.87-million (including VAT) and recommended that this sum be recovered from the provider.

When these invoices were first submitted, Daybreak’s Chief Financial Officer flagged them. She requested proof of work, noting that she struggled to establish whether any services had actually been rendered. Instead of providing proof, Blue Apple Tree referred her to the Company Secretary, Kgabo Mapotse, claiming the board was already comfortable with the work.

### **Incomplete investigation**

The forensic report records that the investigation remained incomplete because then-CEO Seshibe instructed investigators in December 2022 to suspend aspects of their probe.

Following Seshibe's departure and suspension, investigators were briefly allowed to resume their work, but were subsequently instructed by Daybreak director Richard Manzini to finalise and close the report without completing the outstanding investigative loops.

The revelation of the Fundudzi report makes SAA’s April 2026 **due diligence** look incredibly compromised. The SAA board had publicly assured South Africans that the historic allegations against Seshibe were fabricated.

However, the leaked forensic files paint a picture that the Group CEO they had appointed to lead SAA’s multibillion-rand turnaround had allegedly shut down a corruption probe into R12-million of inflated invoices, including vanity drone videos celebrating his own CEO induction.

If you were into conspiracy theories, by preemptively suspending Seshibe on 14 August, Sedzani Mudau’s board successfully avoided being blindsided on 17 August, allowing them to frame the suspension as a “decisive” move in support of “integrity and leadership”.

But that is just conjecture. **DM**