It came as no surprise when the decision by the previous Public Investment Corporation board to suspend embattled Ceo Patrick Dlamini was overturned with costs.

Judge Mandla Mbongwe in the Gauteng High Court did not hold back when he handed down a damning judgment in the urgent application launched by the suspended Public Investment Corporation (PIC) CEO, Patrick Dlamini. The court ruled in Dlamini's favour on all counts, declaring his precautionary suspension of 13 July unlawful, invalid and of no force or effect, setting it aside with immediate effect.

Because the board bypassed mandatory statutory and contractual prerequisites, the court ruled that "the suspension was, therefore, ultra vires and invalid".

Catch up Suspended CEO Patrick Dlamini is challenging the PIC board despite the R900m question July 28, 2026 The judgment contains some of the most severe judicial rebukes of state-owned enterprise board governance in South African legal history:

On the board's rogue, unilateral conduct: "None of these prerequisites were met. The board acted unilaterally, without ministerial approval, and in disregard of its own policies." On the misuse of whistleblower frameworks: "Whistleblower protections safeguard whistleblowers from retaliation. They do not, however, confer powers of suspension on the board." On the failure of internal policies to cure illegality: "The board's reliance on whistleblower principles cannot cure its lack of authority ... internal policies cannot...