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Work pressure led Brian Molefe’s ex-PA to commit suicide
A report in Sunday World details how former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe's personal assistant committed suicide after she was demoted from his office on his instruction.
Brian Molefe speaks at a press conference where he was releasing Eskom’s 2016 interim results, 3 November 2016. Megawatt Park, Sunninghill. Picture: Tracy Lee Stark
The mother of Gugulethu Mbatha says her daughter couldn’t handle being demoted at work after she couldn’t find Molefe’s passport for an overseas trip last year.
Thembi explains that Mbatha, a wife and mother of two, was tasked with preparing Molefe’s travel arrangements and before he was supposed to leave for an international trip, she searched his office looking for his passport. When it was eventually located in her drawer, she took the blame for not finding it in time.
“My daughter loved her job, she was always working hard, but things took a turn after she was removed from Molefe’s office,” said Thembi.
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Mbatha was ordered to take three weeks leave and upon her return was told Molefe had requested to work with someone else as she was untrustworthy. Consequently, this led to Mbatha’s depression and she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. She overdosed on pills in her Midrand home last November.
“Eskom led my daughter to suicide. I have a feeling the passport saga was a plot to remove her from Molefe’s office. If they did not want her, why did they not give her a package and retrench her,” said Thembi.
Eskom declined to comment while Molefe could not be reached.
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