The judge who has been presiding over the court case between sacked Old Mutual chief executive Peter Moyo and his former employer has stepped down.
“This comes after Peter Moyo’s legal team introduced allegations that Old Mutual was scandalising the court, putting the judge in an untenable position,” the insurance firm said.
“Old Mutual, despite asking them to remove this reference from their contempt papers, had no choice but to apply for the judge’s recusal when they refused to do so.
“The decision to proceed with the recusal application was a difficult one and we welcome and respect judge Mashile’s decision to recuse himself.”
This follows an apology by Old Mutual chairman Trevor Manuel who described the judge “a single individual who happens to wear a robe” during a press conference.
A long-running dispute
Mashile had heard the case since it began in June 2019, when he ruled Moyo’s sacking was unlawful.
The former chief executive took on the top job in June 2017.
He was suspended by the insurer in May 2019 due to an alleged material breakdown in trust and confidence between him and Old Mutual’s board.
This led to his sacking within less than a month.
But the first ruling by Mashile deemed the move unlawful and Moyo was reinstated on a temporary basis, which led the insurer to sack him a second time.
Moyo then sued Old Mutual for contempt of court.
As a result, the insurance firm appealed and called for the judge to leave the case.
With Mashile recusing himself, a different judge will have to be appointed as the legal proceedings drag on.
