Free State premier's spin-doctor 'must pay back R4.3m settlement'

Setai's bid for further R12m sparks legal row

- By Bongani Mdakane

The controversial spin doctor of Free State Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae's ghosts have come back to haunt her.

This after Matshediso “Tshidi” Setai was paid a questionable R4.3-million by the Department of Transport (DOT) in 2012 as a settlement after she was fired.

At the time of her dismissal, Setai was chief director of communications in the department under the leadership of then minister Sbu Ndebele, and the payout was kept so hush-hush that even the department's legal division was kept in the dark.

The new leadership at the department, under minister Barbara Creecy, became aware of the R4.3-million payout when Setai came back for more, demanding an additional R12-million in 2022 for “damages emanating from the settlement agreement”.

And with the cat out of the bag on this golden handshake, the department decided to go to court to force her to pay back the millions she was paid for working for the department for only six months.

In the court papers the department filed, it asked the Pretoria High Court to review, declare the settlement invalid and set it aside.

The department insisted Setai must be forced to pay back the money.