Graeme Smith cleared of all racism allegations, Cricket SA ordered to pay legal costs

Former Proteas captain Graeme Smith has been cleared of all racism allegations levelled against him by Cricket South Africa's (CSA) Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) report. 

The report, which was submitted after months of testimony in December last year, made "tentative findings" that Smith had engaged in racially biased and discriminatory behaviour in his capacity as Proteas captain and as CSA's director of cricket (DOC). 

Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza, who compiled the SJN report, concluded that Smith had displayed racially prejudiced behaviour in his treatment of former team-mate Thami Tsolekile during their playing days, that he took issue with black leadership at CSA before accepting the DOC role, and that there was bias in his appointment of Mark Boucher as head coach of the Proteas ahead of Enoch Nkwe. 

CSA then took Ntsebeza's findings to arbitration, and on Sunday night, it was confirmed that two independent advocates - Ngwako Maenetje SC and Michael Bishop - had cleared Smith of all allegations. 

The arbitration award also instructed CSA to pay Smith's legal costs. 

In the arbitration award, Adv Maenetje SC and Adv Bishop determined that:

1. There was no evidentiary basis to conclude that Mr Smith engaged in racial discrimination against Mr Thami Tsolekile during the period 2012-2014;

2. There was no evidentiary basis to conclude that Mr Smith was racially biased against black leadership at CSA; and

3. There was no evidentiary basis to conclude Mr Smith's appointment of Mr Mark Boucher, rather than Mr Enoch Nkwe, as coach of the men's Proteas team in 2019 amounted to unfair racial discrimination.

The outcome will not repair the working relationship between the parties, however, as Smith has already moved on from his