Old Mutual Insists It Didn’t Ask Judge To Recuse Himself Because Of Competence

Old Mutual insists that its request for judge Brian Mashile to recuse himself from its matter with axed chief executive officer (CEO) Peter Moyo had nothing to do with his competence or the company’s faith in the judge.

Mashile removed himself from the contempt of court application brought by Moyo.

In July, Mashile ruled that the former CEO’s dismissal by the old mutual board was unlawful and he should be reinstated immediately.

The company applied to have Mashile recuse himself because Moyo claimed in his application that the insurer had insulted the judge when it failed to obey his orders.

Old Mutual’s Tabby Tsengiwe says they respect judge Mashile’s decision.

“This matter was never about whether or not we’ve got confidence in a specific judge. What we were saying in this specific request for judge Mashile to recuse himself was that he had been placed in an untenable position by Mr Moyo and his legal team because they had specifically named him as an interested party in the contempt of court answering papers.”