The hearing of Old Mutual’s application for a declaratory order into whether Moyo could be reinstated as CEO because the insurer is appealing a recent court judgment, which paved the way for him to get his job back, started in August at the High Court in Johannesburg.
Moyo launched a counter-application, asking the High Court for an order to declare the conduct of Old Mutual’s board to be in contempt of court for “failing” to comply with the High Court judgment. Old Mutual’s board comprises 14 individuals and is led by board chair Trevor Manuel.
A contempt of court offence relates to being disobedient or disrespectful towards a court of law regarding its judgments and comes with sanctions including hefty fines or imprisonment. Moyo is pushing for these sanctions, as he wants Old Mutual’s board to explain to the court why it should not be committed to imprisonment for six months or a period determined by the court.
Acting for the Old Mutual board, John Dickerson SC, said the contempt of court application is “fatally flawed and cannot be entertained” because Moyo didn’t follow proper processes in launching the application.
(Edited by Daniel Friedman. Background reporting by Ray Mahlaka, Moneyweb)
