{
  "id": 5922784,
  "title": "FMD vaccine price row: What landed the OBP boss in hot water",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/06/fmd-vaccine-price-row-what-landed-the-obp-boss-in-hot-water",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-06T05:40:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IOL",
    "slug": "iol",
    "url": "https://iol.co.za/news/south-africa/fmd-vaccine-price-row-what-landed-the-obp-boss-in-hot-water/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Acting CEO of Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP), Dr Jacob Modumoh, has been placed on precautionary suspension due to allegations of serious misconduct concerning the pricing of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccines. Agriculture Minister Willie Aucamp announced this suspension following a meeting with the OBP Board on September 4, 2026. The board presented Aucamp with information regarding the alleged misconduct against Modumoh.\n\nAucamp stated that the Board gave Modumoh notice of its intention to suspend him, allowing him five days to explain why he should not be suspended. If the reasons were insufficient, the suspension would remain in place pending an independent investigation. Aucamp emphasized that OBP should not profit excessively from the ongoing FMD crisis, which is the largest outbreak in South Africa's history, placing a financial burden on farmers. Government has a responsibility to support farmers by procuring and making vaccines available at the most cost-effective and efficient manner possible.\n\nThe suspension was a precautionary measure and not a finding of wrongdoing. Aucamp stated that the action ensured good governance, accountability, and due process remained central to OBP's operations. FMD Response SA welcomed the minister's intervention and called for similar scrutiny of South Africa's FMD testing system. The organization argued that OBP's vaccine pricing was under scrutiny but testing remained concentrated in a single channel. They recommended external verification of testing results for confidence in the country's FMD response. Aucamp urged the media and public not to speculate while appropriate processes were underway, assuring that the Acting CEO's suspension would not affect ongoing FMD vaccination efforts.",
  "summary": "The OBP Acting CEO has been placed on precautionary suspension over allegations concerning the pricing of foot-and-mouth disease vaccines, with the board giving him five days to respond.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}