World Athletics has instructed Athletics South Africa (ASA) to immediately dismiss its president, James Moloi, and implement comprehensive constitutional reform within six months. The organization warned that failure to comply with this requirement would result in the temporary suspension of membership.
This ultimatum followed a fact-finding mission conducted in South Africa on September 2–3, 2026, by Zahele Dlamini, President of the South African Athletics Confederation (SACA) and Vice-President of the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA).
At the request of the CAA and World Athletics, Dlamini's report revealed deep institutional instability within ASA. Issues included disagreements within the executive council, compromised collective decision-making, ambiguity in the powers of elected officials, and conflicts of interest during voting between national and provincial levels.
Moloi was initially suspended by the ASA council in October 2025 following an forensic audit by Forvis Mazars regarding alleged financial irregularities. The audit showed that the ASA corporate credit card was used nearly 400 times between May 2023 and April 2024, exceeding spending limits and incurring over 300,000 rand in unauthorized or personal expenses.
In a three-page letter sent from Monaco on October 15 (which was seen by IOL), World Athletics officially acknowledged receipt of Dlamini's report, as well as the findings of the independent disciplinary committee chaired by retired judge Bashir Wagla from October 6, 2026. The committee unanimously found Moloi guilty of two charges related to the misuse of ASA funds and concluded that his removal from the presidency and board membership was a necessary penalty.
World Athletics stated that it expects ASA to respect the verdict of the independent committee and ensure Moloi's dismissal 'without delay.'
Addressing what it termed structural weaknesses rather than isolated disputes, World Athletics and the CAA developed a strict action plan for ASA. The global body specified that the updated ASA constitution must ensure that the ASA Council acts as the supreme decision-making body, eliminate double voting and provincial conflicts, establish independent election and oversight mechanisms, and introduce term limits alongside representation for women and athletes.
Dlamini has been appointed as an independent monitor to oversee compliance with these requirements and regular reporting. World Athletics emphasized that failure to meet the six-month deadline or any deliberate obstruction would lead to the case being referred to the World Athletics Council for sanctions under Article 13, which include the temporary suspension of ASA's international membership.