Former Telkom COO Molatsi Nzeku has won his fight against the telco, for what he claims was an unfair dismissal early last year.
At the time of his dismissal, Telkom accused Nzeku of not delivering on his portfolio, as the company still faces severe service delivery challenges. The action was preceded by strong opposition from Nzeku against a proposed management reshuffle at Telkom.
The company noted at the time that Nzeku had opposed the operator's restructuring to the point where his role had become extremely divisive and counterproductive, and that it had indications his actions had resulted in reputational damage.
Nzeku vowed then to take action against the decision, adamant that he was not guilty of the allegations. It has since been revealed that he has been successful in his fight against Telkom as the private arbitration process recently ruled in his favour.
“Telkom was notified of the outcome of private arbitration between Telkom and its former chief of operations, Mr Motlatsi Nzeku. The arbitrator has awarded in favour of Mr Nzeku's reinstatement to Telkom. Telkom will study details of the award and discuss it with its external legal advisors in respect of the way forward. The company is not in a position to make any further comment at this stage,” says Telkom.
Little is known of how Nzeku will be compensated, or what course of action will be followed going forward.
Fighting corruption
The sacking came amidst controversy of mismanagement and corruption at the company, to which Nzeku was openly opposed.
Last year, sources within Telkom said Nzeku was known for compiling dossiers on people and issues that dealt with allegations of corruption, or irregular dealings when issuing tenders.
“He is a business-only type of person and took it as a personal affront when instances of fraud or corruption appeared. One of the first things he did when he was appointed head of procurement four years ago was to fire two senior managers on corruption charges,” a source said at the time.
Another senior source said that, because Nzeku was known for compiling these dossiers and that only he had access to them, it made many in Telkom particularly nervous.
“Nzeku had to have bodyguards appointed for his protection at one stage because there were threats against him,” another source said.
Sources said Nzeku had been so disgruntled with Telkom's restructuring plans and its inability to tackle issues of corruption that he stopped going to work.
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