Solidarity to lay criminal charges against Molefe and others tomorrow
5 February 2018
Tomorrow, trade union Solidarity will lay criminal charges with the National Prosecuting Authority, the Hawks and the SAPS against former Eskom CEO, Brian Molefe and other Eskom high-ranking officials. This comes in the wake of, among other things, a condemnatory finding by a full bench of the North Gauteng High Court in terms of which criminal prosecution is justified.
In its finding the court referred to the pure greed, impenitence and lack of integrity displayed by Eskom’s leadership.
The court also found that the unlawful pension scheme was a deliberate scheme devised by Eskom and Molefe.
The court ordered that all monies granted to Molefe in terms of this unlawful pension scheme and the sums already paid out to him be paid back.
“Molefe and certain Eskom leaders have made deliberate unlawful misrepresentations as a result of which Molefe has been enriched to the detriment of Eskom and hence also the taxpayer,” Solidarity Chief Executive, Dirk Hermann said.
Solidarity is asking that criminal charges be laid against Molefe and others on the grounds of inter alia fraud and offences in terms of various South African Acts.
According to Hermann, the Public Prosecutor had indicated during the course of the lawsuit that the Hawks would initiate a criminal investigation into possible criminal activities involving Mr Molefe. “The charges we are bringing will therefore also assist the Hawks in their probe.
“Paying back the money is the right thing to do but it’s not enough. Paying back the money does not undo criminal charges. The fact that Molefe has applied for leave to appeal has no bearing on the criminal case either,” Hermann said.
On Tuesday Solidarity will also disclose who else it believes should be prosecuted too, and will provide more information on the Acts that have been contravened and what the possible sanctions are for such offences.
Issued Francois Redelinghuys, Spokesperson, Solidarity, 5 February 2018
