The stage is set for another showdown at Old Mutual’s Sandton headquarters on Monday morning as the insurer insists axed CEO Peter Moyo is not welcome despite the courts having ruled for a second time that he must be reinstated.
Last week the high court in Johannesburg dismissed the insurer’s application to stop Moyo from returning to work until its appeal process has been concluded.
Old Mutual is appealing against judge Brian Mashile’s ruling of July 30, which ordered that Moyo must be reinstated because he was fired in June without being afforded a disciplinary hearing. The insurer fired Moyo over an alleged conflict of interest involving NMT Capital, a private equity firm Moyo cofounded.
On Friday, Mashile granted Old Mutual leave to appeal against his earlier ruling, but said the insurer must reinstate Moyo pending the outcome of that appeal.
However, in a statement issued late on Friday Old Mutual said the court’s second ruling that it should reinstate Moyo would not be effected because his dismissal on August 21 stood. “Mr Moyo has not challenged the contractual validity of the further notice of termination given on August 21. He will not be returning to work in the interim.”
But Moyo disputes that his second dismissal is valid, and he is challenging that in court as well.
“That letter [of second notice of termination] is actually being considered by the judge. What were we here for today then, if it wasn’t to challenge that second letter, which we are saying was in contempt of court?” asked Moyo.
His legal team said at the weekend that Moyo would report to work at 8am on Monday despite what happened the last time the court made the same ruling. “We will meet you in Sandton at 8am on Monday. There’s a court order that says Mr Moyo must be back at work,” said lawyer Eric Mabuza.
After judge Brian Mashile ruled in July that the insurer fired Moyo illegally and thus had to immediately reinstate him, Old Mutual barred him from entering his office, saying he must stay away because it was appealing against the ruling. The company later reported that a bomb scare had led to the evacuation of the Sandton offices, including Moyo and his legal team.
Moyo has stayed away from the company since then. His legal team told Mashile on Friday that Moyo stayed away only out of respect for the court, and had hoped that once Old Mutual was told for the second time to reinstate him it would abide by the court’s ruling.
“Mr Moyo should have been at work, it is irrelevant that there was an appeal. He stayed away (out of) respect for the court, not because he had to,” said advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, also representing Moyo.
If Moyo is barred from work again it is likely that his legal team will add another contempt of court count to its list of charges against Old Mutual. On Friday it asked Mashile to rule that Old Mutual was in contempt of court when it fired Moyo for the second time in August while still waiting to hear if it was wrong in refusing to reinstate him in July.
Dali Mpofu, also representing Moyo, charged that by firing Moyo for the second time Old Mutual’s strategy was to ensure that whatever the court’s ruling on the issue of reinstatement it would have no valid effect. “The letter was issued to hedge their bets so that if the section 18 application is lost, Mr Moyo still can’t return to work,” he said.
However, senior counsel Gilbert Marcus, representing the Old Mutual board, said Moyo’s legal team was incorrect that the insurer could not fire Moyo again while waiting for the court’s rulings. “It is permissible as a matter of law to make a fresh termination,” Marcus said.
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