The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) had to fork out R22-million to defend former chief operations officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng during his tumultuous tenure at the broadcaster, a parliamentary reply revealed on Wednesday.

Motsoeneng was a respondent in no less than 15 different cases since the 2013/14 financial year, former communications minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane revealed in a reply to Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Thomas Hadebe.

His highest legal bill, R5.3-million, accrued from his fight against the DA over the Public Protector's report into governance failures at the broadcaster, When Governance and Ethics Fail.

Other notable spending included R4.9-million litigating on "various SABC board matters", R1.6-million against the Helen Suzman Foundation and R1.1-million in a case against veteran journalist Vuyo Mvoko.

The total figure might increase as matters progress, Kubayi-Ngubane added.

The news comes at a bad time for Motsoeneng, after the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) told Parliament last month it had issued a summons against him for more than R21-million he owes the broadcaster.

DA MP Phumzile van Damme on Thursday said Motsoeneng must pay back every cent owed to the taxpayer.

Motsoeneng was eventually removed from his position at the SABC in June last year after he was found guilty of bringing the public broadcaster into disrepute in an internal disciplinary hearing.

SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the broadcaster would consult its legal department before commenting, and to also confirm that the information sent to the ministry was accurate.

He would provide more detailed comment at a later stage.

Attempts by News24 to reach Motsoeneng for comment on Thursday were unsuccessful.