Brian Molefe digs in his heels in bid to avoid repaying R9.9m to Eskom pension fund

Former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe claims that his actuary determined that he must pay R1,490,920.89 to the Eskom Pension and Provident Fund (EPPF) — a far cry from the R9.9-million that the Pretoria High Court ordered.

This is part of Molefe’s application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) against the decision and order issued by the Pretoria High Court.

On 4 July, Judge Norman Davis issued an order directing Molefe to reimburse the EPPF for the sums of R7,981,727.94 and R2,003,812.70. The court further determined that the EPPF reimburse Eskom for R30,103,915.62. The EPPF has since reimbursed Eskom for this sum.

When Molefe was given early retirement in 2016, Eskom committed to paying for it and buying the extra years of service on Molefe’s five-year contract — R30.1-million after only 16 months of service. This is when the illegal R9.9-million pension payout occurred.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Eskom claws back illicit R30-million pension payment to former CEO Brian Molefe”

Following the 4 July ruling, Molefe filed leave to appeal against the order. But, on 12 October Davis dismissed his appeal. Now Molefe has petitioned the SCA.



The legal dispute over Molefe’s “refusal to repay the pension he unlawfully got” extends back to a ruling made on 25 January 2018. The Pretoria High Court subsequently ruled that Molefe’s receipt of “any payment or quantity of money” under “any claimed pension agreement” between him and Eskom was unlawful.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Eskom’s Brian Molefe must pay back the money”

No payment has been received after four years. Molefe has now requested permission to appeal to the SCA or, alternatively, the full Pretoria High Court, against the entire decisions and orders that were rendered on 4 July and 12 October.

The appeal papers are a summary of the main arguments Molefe and his legal team chose to use as the basis for their appeal; they do not present any fresh facts to be disputed. The documents were submitted on 10 November.

In his founding affidavit, Molefe stated that he had requested permission to appeal against the decision and order.

“Despite the fact that the whole court ordered me to pay R10,327,074.53, which is a glaring contradiction of the R7,981,727.94 and R2,003,812.90 along with the interest thereon from October 31, the EPPF petitioned the [Pretoria] High Court in order for the complete judgment to be ‘executed’.”

According to his appeal documents, Judge Davis “attempted to unscramble the egg” by ordering additional amounts that would have to be paid.

On the court’s finding that “he has not shown any proof which contradicts the quantities”, Molefe claims that the court failed to recognise the fact that he did contest the sum and even went so far as to obtain an actuarial report.

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“That alone indicates that I am contesting the figure the fund determined. The court should have accepted the only actuarial data on the flow of funds that was offered on my behalf because the fund did not provide any independent actuarial calculations.

“The court should have ruled that I was required to pay R4,156,230.82 to the fund’s actuary and R1,490,920.89 to my own actuary. This is a far cry from the R8-million ordered by this court,” reads his papers.

“I respectfully submit that an appeal against the judgment of the court has reasonable prospects of success as well as there is compelling reason [sic] why an appeal should be heard.

“The court of first instance has not only made errors of fact, but also erred in the interpretation and application of the law,” he contends.

Molefe’s intention to request leave to appeal against the high court judgment will be opposed, reads a press release from the Eskom Pension and Provident Fund. Shafeeq Abrahams, the fund’s chief executive and principal officer, said the fund would submit a counter affidavit.

“We are making every effort to get the money back. A letter of demand has already been delivered by us. On July 4, 2022, the Pretoria High Court issued an order requiring Molefe to repay payments obtained illegally from the EPPF. The fund took legal action against Molefe to compel him to repay the funds in accordance with the initial court ruling from 2018.

“Since there is no dispute regarding the R30-million Eskom illegally paid, the EPPF has reimbursed it. The court decision from last month dealt with the approximately R10-million,” he said. DM

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