The High Court in Johannesburg has postponed to Thursday the case brought by former Old Mutual CEO Peter Moyo against his axing by the financial services firm.
In a brief appearance on Tuesday, the judge ordered that the urgent application be heard on Thursday to allow time for arguments from both parties.
Moyo brought the legal challenge following his dismissal on June 17, over what the company described as a breakdown in trust and confidence.
Speaking to reporters outside the court, Moyo insisted that his case is about his “contract of employment” and Old Mutual not following what is stipulated in it.
“They say the reason they terminated it [contract] is because the contract allows them to do so,” he said.
Moyo is seeking among other things an order reinstating him to his old job and wants the company to be prevented from hiring his replacement.
At the centre of his dismissal is a breach dividend payment by NMT Capital, a private company he co-founded, in which Old Mutual Life Assurance Company, a subsidiary of Old Mutual, is an investor.
According to Old Mutual, the payment of R115m, of which R30.6m went to Moyo, was made while a payment to Old Mutual was in arrears. The company has also raised concern over the approval of the dividend, which was done in a meeting where Moyo and an Old Mutual representative were present.
"The relationship between Old Mutual and NMT goes beyond 14 years, so they always knew about it. It pre-dates my arrival at Old Mutual," he said.
"I am not NMT, you have to separate NMT and Peter Moyo," he said.
Moyo was initially suspended on May 23, in a process he described as “devastating and humiliating”.