EPPF to oppose Brian Molefe’s latest appeal effort

Dear Member, 

Please see the latest update on the Brian Molefe pension matter. 

The Eskom Pension and Provident Fund (EPPF) will be opposing Mr Brian Molefe’s decision to apply for leave to appeal last month’s Pretoria High Court decision. The court dismissed his application for leave to appeal, with costs, on 12 October 2022. The EPPF confirms that Mr Molefe’s legal team gave notice last week that he will petition the Supreme Court of Appeal for the opportunity to appeal or have the Pretoria court’s decision set aside.

The EPPF’s Chief Executive and Principal Officer Mr Shafeeq Abrahams says the Fund will be filing an opposing affidavit with the Supreme Court of Appeal, “We are doing everything we can to recover the money. We have already served a letter of demand.” 

The Pretoria High Court ordered on 4 July 2022 that Mr Molefe had to pay back benefits unlawfully received from the EPPF. The Fund took legal action against Mr Molefe to compel him to pay back the money in line with the original court judgment from 2018. Mr Molefe had unsuccessfully sought to appeal the 2018 judgment, eventually going to the Constitutional Court in 2019. The EPPF had also asked the High Court to determine and order how much needed to be repaid considering Mr Molefe’s own contributions to the Fund while he was an employee of Eskom, his accumulated retirement savings transferred to the EPPF from his previous employer, as well as the related tax implications and applicable interest.

The EPPF repaid the R30 million that was unlawfully paid to it by Eskom, as this amount was not in dispute. The nearly R10 million in benefits paid to Mr Molefe was the subject of last month’s court ruling. 

For our previous update (19 October 2022), please click here. 

Regards, 

The Eskom Pension and Provident Fund