Former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe has approached the courts in a bid to fight his dismissal from the power utility and wants his application heard urgently.

This has been Molefe’s second exit from Eskom in six months following recent instruction from public enterprises minister Lynne Brown to the utility’s board to rescind his reappointment as group CEO.

Molefe left Eskom under a cloud of controversy in December last year following his implication in former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s State of Capture report which revealed his irregular dealings with members of the Gupta family.

He thereafter had a brief stint as a Member of Parliament (MP), however his order to leave Eskom for the second time was as a result of concerns raised by other MPs who said his return would not be in the interest of good governance.

However Molefe is not going down without a fight. He approached the Labour Court at the weekend in a bid to get his dismissal declared unlawful and invalid. Reports indicate that he notified Eskom and Brown of his application.

Brown’s spokesman, Colin Cruywagen, confirmed to media that the Brown received Molefe’s notice, and Eskom’s board spokesman Khulani Qoma also confirmed receipt of the notice.

Following Molefe’s dismissal, Eskom’s board awaits the appointment of an acting CEO from two names that were put forward to Brown. “The minister will use the AGM later this month to look at rotating and strengthening the board,” Cruywagen said on Friday.

Brown also said she was considering replacing the board when Eskom convenes its AGM later this month.

Media reports suggest long-serving executives Thava Govender and Mongezi Ntsokolo as possibilities for the position, while the utility’s finance director Anoj Singh was also pegged as a possibility. However Singh’s involvement with the Gupta family has raised some concerns.

The Democratic Alliance said it would go to court on Tuesday morning in a bid to have Molefe’s appointment set aside.