BLACK MANAGEMENT FORUM24 JUL 2026BMF war spills into courtA deepening rift within the Black Management Forum (BMF) sees its board, led by president Mpho Motsei, heading to…Brian Sokutu5 min read

As the rift between the Black Management Forum and a faction aligned to the organisation’s “stalwart” Mzwanele Manyi deepens, the BMF board led by its president Mpho Motsei is set to take the war to the Gauteng High Court. In an affidavit seen by the Mail & Guardian forming part of an urgent court application expected to be heard by the court next week, BMF Limpopo chairperson Ramatsobane Daisy Raphela cited respondents, who include Manyi, as “operating an unlawful parallel BMF board”. Raphela said: “They have purported to suspend three directors, among them the second applicant (Motsei), the BMF’s president.

“They are communicating with the BMF’s provincial structures and stakeholders as if they were its board, have locked the BMF’s offices against its own employees and are disparaging board members in the press. They have thrown the management and control of the BMF into disarray. “None of this conduct is authorised by the BMF’s memorandum of incorporation (MOI),” she said.

Raphela has asked the court to urgently hear the matter, seeking a spoliation order directing BMF MD Monde Ndlovu to restore the organisation’s possessions to its office premises. The application also seeks an interim interdict restraining the respondents “from purporting to act as, or on behalf of its board”. Reflecting on a meeting held on 29 June, chaired by BMF deputy president Lilly Moabi attended by Manyi and members of a previously disbanded executive committee, Motsei described the gathering as “not formally sanctioned or reconstituted by the board”.

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The meeting decided to place Motsei on a precautionary suspension. He said the meeting was “not convened in accordance with the organisation’s established governance framework”. Said Motsei: “The meeting did not meet the required board quorum, had no company secretary in attendance and no members of the executive were present.

“MD Monde Ndlovu did not attend the meeting. Consequently, the meeting lacked the necessary procedural and governance requirements to constitute a properly convened board meeting. Based on the provisions of the MOI, the meeting may therefore be regarded as irregular and without proper authority. “The convening and conduct of such a meeting notwithstanding the absence of the required governance structures and formal authorisation reflects a serious disregard for the organisation’s constitutional and governance processes.

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