High court rules that Old Mutual didn’t follow proper procedures when it fired Moyo.

Peter Moyo has won his legal battle against Old Mutual to be reinstated as the life insurer’s CEO.

On Tuesday, the high court in Johannesburg set Moyo’s dismissal from Old Mutual aside and rendered it as unlawful — effectively paving the way for him to be reinstated as CEO. 

This means that Moyo will serve the four-and-a-half years remaining of his employment contract with Old Mutual.

In a judgment delivered by Judge Lester Adams on behalf of judge Brian Mashile, who presided over hearings relating to Moyo’s urgent application to be reinstated by Old Mutual CEO, Adams said the insurer didn’t follow the terms of Moyo’s employment contract when he was dismissed.

Lester said Moyo’s dismissal by Old Mutual cannot be justified because the insurer denied Moyo a disciplinary hearing — as stipulated in his employment contract — before he was suspended and subsequently fired.

The high court judgment means that Old Mutual has been interdicted from appointing a CEO to replace Moyo. The company has already appointed Ian Williamson as acting CEO.

About the judgment, Moyo said: “I’m back at the office tomorrow morning at 8 am. I want to go back at Old Mutual. In terms of my contract of employment, Old Mutual did not dealt with it properly when it dismissed me.”

Old Mutual also has to pay Moyo’s legal costs for bringing the urgent application to get his job back.

Old Mutual suspended Moyo on May 23, hours before the insurer’s annual general meeting, citing a conflict of interest due to his involvement with NMT Capital that resulted in “a material breakdown in the relationship of trust and confidence”.

The insurer fired Moyo on June 18 saying that the breakdown was attributed to a conflict over ordinary dividend payments declared by NMT Capital worth more than R100 million during its 2018 financial year. Moyo has launched an urgent application at the high court in Johannesburg to declare his sacking as unlawful, which would pave the way for him to be temporarily reinstated as CEO.

When Old Mutual initially suspended Moyo, it cited a breakdown of trust and confidence between both parties. Manuel said there was no financial misconduct on Moyo’s part. The insurer later said there was a conflict of interest due to Moyo’s involvement with investment holding firm NMT Capital, which he co-founded in 2002. Old Mutual owns a 20% stake in NMT.

Moyo’s lawyers have accused Old Mutual of flip-flopping on the reasons it gave for firing Moyo and said the breakdown in the relationship between both parties was “not real” but “manufactured” by the insurer.

The judgement has endorsed arguments submitted by Moyo’s lawyers that the reasons given by Old Mutual when it first dismissed and fired him were inconsistent.

In part B of Moyo’s application, which can be instituted 60 days after the Tuesday judgment, he wants Old Mutual chair Trevor Manuel and about 12 non-executive directors to be declared delinquent under Section 162 of the Companies Act.

Moyo lawyers said Old Mutual directors neglected their fiduciary duties due to the way in which the matter was handled by the company.

Moyo said he is still pursuing part B of his application as the way Old Mutual dealt with his dismissal was “unlawful.”

Asked how Moyo’s working relationship with Old Mutual, the board and Manuel will be after he is reinstated as CEO, he said: “I’m old enough. We all work for one purpose at Old Mutual and we are not there to love each other. Work will continue.”