Suspended SABC news boss Phil Molefe loses his court application to have his suspension and pending disciplinary hearing ruled unlawful.

The SABC's embattled and suspended news boss Phil Molefe who has been placed on "special leave" for the largest part of the year from his R2,2 million job has lost an acrimonious court battle to force the SABC and its CEO Lulama Mokhobo to reinstate him as the public broadcaster's head of news and current affairs.

Lulama Mokhobo placed Phil Molefe on "special leave" back in April (while the SABC was working on creating a new 24-hour TV news channel with pay-TV platform MultiChoice, now with no permanent head of news at the SABC) when Phil Molefe refused to hand over the SABC News division's news diaries to her.

The SABC which has refused to talk about the reasons, said at the time Phil Molefe was placed on "special leave" due to "human resource matters". Phil Molefe decided to challenge his suspension, saying that the order to forward the daily news diary to the SABC's CEO Lulama Mokhobo amounted to editorial interference.

Phil Molefe, interestingly represented by advocate Dali Mpofu - a previous CEO of the SABC - will now have to face off with the SABC's top executive in a disciplinary hearing after the South Gauteng High Court dismissed Phil Molefe's court application to have the pending disciplinary hearing declared unlawful.

Phil Molefe also wanted his suspension to be declared unlawful in a bid to get his "special leave" declared "unlawful and, accordingly, invalid, null and void".