Hijackers on Board: How One Courageous Whistleblower Fought Against the Capture of SAA
Cynthia Stimpel knew that blowing the whistle could cost her job as Group Treasurer at South African Airways, yet she could not remain silent about an irregular R256 million deal made during Dudu Myeni’s tenure. It was not an easy decision, but she understood it was the right one.
While on a pilgrimage in France, Cynthia learned that a dubious agreement between BNP Capital and SAA was signed against her explicit orders. In a courageous act, she immediately sent a whistle-blowing message to the National Treasury, raising the alarm in an attempt to halt the deal.
Although her actions saved SAA millions, Cynthia paid a high price for speaking the truth—losing both her job and her reputation. Yet, her battle against Myeni and her fellow state capturers was far from over. She faced Myeni in court and testified against her at the Zondo Commission.
Cynthia’s appointment to lead the treasury department at SAA should have marked the pinnacle of her successful corporate career, which spanned four decades. Her diligent work at major institutions, including Barclays Bank, Citibank, and First National Bank, led her to SAA as Head Financial Risk Manager. A decade later, she became Group Treasurer, from which position she courageously exposed a corrupt deal that rendered her working life untenable.
When Cynthia joined SAA in 2006, it was struggling; the national airline had made poor financial decisions earlier in the decade and faced significant debt, exacerbated by currency fluctuations. High staff turnover plagued the organisation, especially at senior levels.
In March 2016, the airline’s board unexpectedly appointed BNP Capital, an obscure finance company, to advise on raising R15 billion (£737 million) in funding, offering an advisory fee of R2.8 million (£138,000). This decision surprised Cynthia, who had been exploring more conventional—and less costly—means of consolidating SAA’s debts but had been consistently thwarted by the board.
At that time, Dudu Myeni chaired the SAA board, wielding considerable political influence and close ties to then-President Jacob Zuma. A month earlier, Myeni had made a controversial remark at a meeting with senior SAA executives, stating, “It’s our turn to eat.”
In her book, Hijackers on Board, Cynthia details a series of decisions by Myeni that seemed misaligned with SAA’s best interests. Under Myeni’s leadership, the board increasingly intruded into operational matters, bypassing regular decision-making structures.
The following month, the board resolved to expand BNP Capital’s role from transaction advisor to include sourcing the funding. Cynthia was pressured to sign a submission supporting the awarding of the contract to BNP Capital without a tender process, which stipulated an initial success fee of R300 million (£14.7 million), later reduced to R256 million (£12.6 million)—an enormous amount for an organisation already in dire financial straits.
Cynthia refused to sign, arguing that the tender processes were not followed, the fee was excessively inflated, and SAA didn’t require the service at all. After going on leave, she discovered that the submission had been signed in her absence.
Determined to take action, Cynthia disclosed her concerns to SAA officials, including Executive Managers, the Chief Risk Officer, and the Head of Internal Audit. When no action was taken, she reported her concerns to trusted individuals within the National Treasury, supporting her claims with evidence. Realising the urgency of the situation, she submitted a complaint to South Africa’s ombudsman, the Public Protector, and disclosed her concerns to OUTA (Organisation for Undoing Tax Abuse) as the BNP Capital appointment was imminent.
Shortly thereafter, SAA suspended Cynthia, accusing her of unlawfully accessing and disclosing company documents. Details of the BNP Capital deal were leaked to the media, igniting public outrage, which ultimately led to the cancellation of the contract.
In the ensuing months, Cynthia endured relentless pressure. SAA aggressively pursued disciplinary charges against her, and she became aware of being under physical surveillance, with unknown vehicles trailing her or parked outside her home. Frustrated and depressed by the prospect of protracted court battles, she reluctantly accepted an early retirement agreement with SAA, which provided a modest six-month salary settlement in May 2017.
This, however, was not the end of Cynthia’s story. Amid growing concerns about widespread state corruption, her experiences at SAA became emblematic of a national issue, with powerful individuals extracting funds from the South African public on a massive scale.
Cynthia testified before the Zondo Commission in June 2019, and in 2022, the inquiry’s findings fully vindicated her. The report concluded, “Whistleblowers like Ms Stimpel are the final defence against corruption and state capture in state-owned enterprises,” praising her commitment to stand up for what was right “at great personal cost to herself.”
Today, Cynthia serves as the Whistleblower Liaison Manager at The Whistleblower House, where she assists whistleblowers like herself on their journeys, providing invaluable support and guidance to those who dare to speak out against corruption and injustice.
The Commission also recommended that Dudu Myeni face criminal charges for corruption, fraud, and for revealing the identity of a protected witness. Following separate legal action initiated by the SAA Pilots Union, Myeni was disqualified for life from serving as a company director, with the judge stating that “Ms Myeni is not a fit and proper person to be appointed as a director of any company, let alone a state-owned enterprise.”