Little clarity on suspended president, Soweto Marathon

“We are moving from disorder to discipline.” This is one of the bold statements uttered by acting Athletics South Africa (ASA) president John Mathane in a moving monologue delivered on 8 May at a press conference held at the Southern Sun hotel in Rosebank.

“Let me be clear. There will be no tolerance for poor governance, administrative failure, financial misconduct or lack of accountability in Athletics South Africa,” Mathane stated in his speech.

James Moloi suspension

ASA vice-president Mathane had to step into the shoes of suspended South African athletics head James Moloi. The latter has been sitting on the bench since being subbed off in October 2025, for alleged malfeasance relating to the use of his ASA-provided credit card.

Moloi stands accused of plundering the funds on that credit card for personal use, something which the veteran sports administrator has vehemently denied, saying he can account for the use of the company card, including its use at local entertainment venues.

The suspended ASA boss is said to have spent R300,406 between May 2023 and April 2024, exceeding the budget cap of R120,000. Ironically, he was re-elected in May 2025, after defeating Aleck Skhosana.

Then, a month later, the allegations against Moloi surfaced publicly at ASA’s appearance before the sport, arts and culture parliamentary portfolio committee. However, it took another four months from that revelation before Moloi was eventually suspended. His suspension came on the back of a forensic investigation by Forvis Mazars which revealed his alleged spending splurge.

“On the issue of the president… The president remains suspended until the internal, independent processes have taken place. We will inform the media accordingly,” Mathane said.

“I am not sure who said the president was reinstated. Because as Athletics South Africa, we never released such a statement. We are still sitting with what we have. The president was served with a letter that says until the internal processes are complete [he remains suspended],” said the acting president.

“We are in the process of appointing external senior counsel to sit in a disciplinary hearing. We are also engaging the Department of Sport and South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee on this issue, so they can guide us on the processes and procedures to follow.

“On the issue of a timeline, we are saying by the end of May 2026 we should be done with this issue. Because it’s something that will take a day or two to resolve. We are also worried as the athletics committee [on the lack of a resolution]. But there are regulations that need to be followed. We don’t want to find ourselves being litigated [for flouting processes],” he added.

The fight to save the People’s Race

Among the other topics addressed by Mathane was the non-payment of athletes following both the 2025 Soweto Marathon and the 2024 Mpumalanga Marathon, for which podium finishers are still owed their prize money.

“The issue of athletes’ non-payment has caused understandable frustration and anger,” said Mathane.

He stressed that not all payment matters fall under the directive of ASA, arguing that both races originated at the provincial level.

“That said, we will not stand aside as Athletics South Africa while our athletes suffer,” he said.

Nearly six months have passed since the historic Soweto Marathon took place on 29 November 2025, yet the elite podium finishers still have not received their payment.

Similarly, in 2024, the Mpumalanga Marathon advertised a R1-million purse for the winners of the 42km race. To this day, athletes remain unpaid.

“We are engaging directly with affected provinces, Mpumalanga and CGA (Central Gauteng Athletics),” said Mathane. “We are enforcing accountability mechanisms where we are sitting as Athletics South Africa. We are also strengthening the oversight processes to make sure that the athletes need to be paid.

“Athletes are the heartbeat of the sport, they are going to be protected by Athletics South Africa, that one I can assure you.”

The prize money saga has been gaining national attention, with Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie even stating that his department would step in, “take over” the iconic race, pay the athletes and pursue criminal charges against the race organisers.

Despite the bold declaration, both CGA and ASA say the government has yet to formally engage with either federation.

“We want to say we are waiting for the government to come forward with the proposals that they are making, because we only hear that in the media,” said Mathane. “We were not approached as the federation. We want to sit down with the government so that we can rectify and correct this.”

Mathane added that if the government intended to assist financially, ASA would welcome support for both the Soweto and Mpumalanga marathons.

However, CGA warned that any government intervention in the Soweto Marathon must be handled carefully, stating that a “takeover” of the race by a government structure could place South African athletics at odds with international governance rules.

For now McKenzie’s promises remain just that, promises. Neither the department nor the minister has publicly outlined how athletes will be paid, when payments will happen or what a government takeover would look like.

The majority seem to agree that the Soweto Marathon is too important to be allowed to collapse or disappear altogether.

“The issue of the Soweto Marathon… It’s more than a race, it is a national heritage,” said Mathane. “It must be protected, professionally governed and compliant with ASA regulations.”

Mathane also told the media that the association is actively searching for a new and permanent CEO. Their current chief executive, Terrence Magogodela, has been acting since December 2020.

Magogodela had to pay the Special Investigating Unit R388,733, including legal costs, for his alleged involvement in the squandering of National Lotteries Commission funds meant to develop a sports facility. DM