The result is a shockingly bitter and acrimonious display of clashing personalities laying bare the fracturous personality clashes on the SABC board whose members are supposed to steer the beleaguered public broadcaster out of crises but which remains mired in a morass of problems.
There's no love lost between Cawe Mahlati and the rest of the SABC board who've unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in her and now want her gone. All of the internal squabbles and all of its full ugliness bubbled up, over and out today in a cringeworthy, yet fascinating, and completely shocking public display of in-fighting.
It all started this morning which was yet again a an extremely shocking, cringeworthy, and painful day for the SABC as the beleaguered public broadcaster's board was roasted in parliament for the shoddy latest report compiled by the broadcaster. Members of parliament were not happy about the numerous unaddresses crises afflicting the troubled broadcaster and the lack of specific answers and detail from the SABC.
That was only this morning's session and the shape of even worse things to come.
Then already Cawe Mahlati - according to the SABC's company secretary the only SABC board member who has after more than a year not declared outside interests - kept interrupting, saying the report discussed today in parliament never passed through the SABC board.
It suddenly became crystal clear that this afternoon's session of SABC governance and Cawe Mahlati in parliament - was going to be a zinger.
"Dr Ngubane and his leadership of the SABC board has led to the dissolution of one SABC board already," Cawe Mahlati told parliament's portfolio committee on communications this afternoon.
Cawe Mahlati told the portfolio committee that she is being singled out because she is the lone voice of reason and the voice which airs "all inconvenient truths which the SABC chairperson and some members of the SABC board seek to hide".
Cawe Mahlati also lashed out against "the rampant maladministration and corruption in the SABC board" under the "autocratic and patriarchal" leadership style of dr Ben Ngubane.
And she didn't stop there. "Dr Ben Ngubane is of the view that he is the board and the other board members have allowed him to be as such," said Cawe Mahlati.
Meanwhile members of parliament's communications committee heard that the allegations against Cawe Mahlati and the reason for the motion of no confidence in her include unethical behaviour and the failure to treat fellow SABC board members with respect and dignity.
Dr Ben Ngubane said the grievances lodged against Cawe Mahlati by the Special Monitoring Task Team is about her alleged disruptive behaviour. "Mahlati doubted and questioned every decision taken by the SABC board," dr Ben Ngubane said.
"The work of the SABC is being totally frustrated with this constant fighting, disagreements, wasting of a lot of time at SABC board meetings," dr Ben Ngubane said.
"We have a problem. And that problem is advocate Cawe Mahlati," said SABC board member Suzanne Vos.
Parliament's portfolio committee on communications will have to deliberate and decide on how to proceed with the latest squabbling and in-fighting within the SABC board.
