Former Eskom CEO, Brian Molefe, has been ordered to pay back the R11-million pension payout he received from Eskom.
The judgement was passed on Thursday morning, 25 January, by the Pretoria High Court.
Molefe was also ordered to pay the legal costs of Solidarity Trade Union, the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters, who took to court to review and challenge the decision of the Minister of Public Enterprises to reinstate Molefe to the position of group chief executive at Eskom after he had departed from Eskom under the guise of an early retirement agreement.
In the ruling, the court contended that Molefe had evidently resigned and therefore found the purported early retirement agreement to be invalid. The court also ruled that Molefe’s re-appointment to Eskom last year was unlawful and has been set aside, thus, making Molefe’s entitlement to a pension void.
In a statement, the Democratic Alliance said it welcomed the court’s decision. “The ruling today was a victory for the South African public and should serve as a warning for all those who have been involved or implicated in corruption at state-owned enterprises,” said the DA.
The party said that Molefe’s departure from Eskom coincided with controversies and corruption allegations. “He was one of the architects of the capture of Eskom and he does not deserve a single cent of taxpayers’ money,” the DA claimed.
The DA further said that the court ruling was another damning indictment on the Minister of Public Enterprises, Lynne Brown. “It was under her watch that Molefe almost got away with ransacking Eskom’s pension fund. The court itself said that the minister and Eskom acted irrationally in ignoring the damning allegations in the Public Protector’s report,” the DA said.
And in another twist, Trade Union Solidarity chief executive, Dirk Hermann, said that Solidarity will push for Molefe’s criminal prosecution.
Molefe has been ordered to pay back the money within 10 days of the judgement and the Democratic Alliance said it will keep a close eye to ensure that he pays back every single cent.
