The three officials were dismissed earlier this week, following a lengthy disciplinary process which began last May.

Former SASCOC chief executive Reddy vowed to fight his dismissal, with the official flanked by financial officer Maharaj and Kelly, who was a senior member of SASCOC staff under Reddy.

Their departure followed a formal investigation which was established to investigate four allegations, including the "sudden changes to SASCOC's security service" and the "alleged involvement of staff in irregular governance activities".

Allegations also included a claim of sexual harassment made against Reddy, as well as "awareness of the so-called 'SS Griffin' Report on the alleged bugging/tapping of phones and office communication".

Reddy and Maharaj were found guilty on 15 and 12 charges, respectively, including a breach of the organisation's finance policy.

Kelly was reportedly found guilty on two charges, having allegedly colluded with Reddy against SASCOC.

The trio have now hit back at SASCOC by publishing an open letter to the organisation’s members, where they outlined a series of grievances.

They claim an assertion by SASCOC vice-president Barry Hendricks that law firm Norton Rose Fulbright have been paid ZAR3 million (£176,000/$242,000/€200,000) for the disciplinary case was wrong, instead asserting that the cost was ZAR6.2 million (£365,000/$500,000/€411,000).

The letter claims that money intended for athlete development and participation is “being squandered in particular by Gideon Sam, Barry Hendricks and Kobus Marais as they do not have a mandate from the full board on the actions that they have taken”.

Further allegations include claims of a conflict of interest involving Hendricks, a failure to uphold SASCOC’s constitution by not holding an Annual General Meeting in 2017 and a suggestion of racism against Kelly.

“Gauteng Sports Confederation was recently paid R857 500 while no other provincial sports confederation was paid any money during this period," the letter reads.

“Is there perhaps some conflict of interest given the fact that Barry Hendricks is the President of Gauteng Sports Confederation?

“For the first time SASCOC has not produced an audited financial statement timeously in 2017 under the leadership of this new board.

“It must be noted that the audited financial statements were in fact completed timeously by the CFO [chief finance officier] but before the auditors could sign off the CFO was suspended which resulted in the auditors not signing off.

“For the first time SASCOC have not held its Annual General Meeting 2017 under the leadership of this new board.

“Amongst the many violations of the constitution by the board this is a further example of violation as the constitution clearly states that SASCOC will host an Annual General Meeting as part of good governance.

“This is the same President that denied Ms Kelly on racial grounds to be the Chef de Mission of Team South Africa to the Rio Games 2016 as she is “from the white race”.

“This decision the President tabled in a full board meeting and not a single board member on the board at that time saw fit to challenge or object to such a racist decision. Ironically including the three white board members.”

insidethegames have contacted SASCOC for a reaction to the allegations made by Reddy, Maharaj and Kelly.

Reddy also defended himself against claims of sexual harassment to Desiree Vardhan, having been found guilty of sending her and "erotic calendar via email", as well as "repeatedly asking for neck and shoulder massages during working hours".

Reddy stated that claim of sexual harassment are “total fabrication and vindictiveness on her part”, adding that SASCOC President Gideon Sam and Jerry Sewaba had “very cleverly interspersed the sexual harassment charges with other charges in a deliberate attempt to cast me and my character in a bad light”.

A series of text messages were also included by Reddy, which he believes highlights his innocence.

The trio also allege part of the reason Durban were stripped of 2022 Commonwealth Games was because of a company, claimed to have been established by Sam, with the official, his daughter and personal assistant said to have been key officials.

They claim this angered government officials, leading to them wanting total control over the delivering of the multi-sport event, putting them at odds with the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).

It was revealed earlier this week that Reddy had submitted more than 700 pages of documents to the chairperson of the inquiry into allegations of misconduct at the national governing body.

The Ministerial Committees of Inquiry was established by South Africa's Sports Minister Thembelani Nxesi in August, at a time when Reddy was suspended following allegations of sexual misconduct.

The inquiry, which is expected to begin later this month, will be led by Judge Ralph Zulman with the support of Ali Bacher and Shamina Gaibie.

It will cover the allegations against Reddy but will mainly concentrate on claims of poor governance, financial mismanagement and non-adherence to the SASCOC constitution.

Reddy has vowed to fight his sacking, with his legal team saying earlier this week that the official had claimed the Disciplinary Committee process was a "sham".

It was also argued that he was not given the opportunity to present his side of the story.

This was dismissed by the report published by SASCOC, which described two medical certificates provided by Reddy as proof of illness as “inadmissible hearsay evidence”.

A full copy of the letter published by Reddy, Maharaj and Kelly can be accessed here OPEN LETTER TO SASCOC MEMBERSHIP.pdf

The full report detailing verdicts against Reddy, Maharaj and Kelly can be accessed here SASCOC-finding.pdf