There was a public outcry following his reappointment, after the Eskom board resolved to bring him back instead of paying him a R30m pension payout. Brown had instructed Eskom not to pay Molefe, after learning about the pension payout in the media.

Molefe gave the impression that he had resigned in November 2016 to clear his name, following the Public Protector’s State of Capture report cited him in the Guptas’ acquisition of a coal mine that supplies Eskom.

While Eskom’s board accepted his resignation, it then tried to employ a rule usually reserved for people who get retrenched to secure Molefe an outsized payout, calling his resignation “early retirement”, City Press reported on Sunday.

READ: How Eskom bent the rules

The African National Congress said it wants Parliament to resolve the matter, and it stated that Molefe’s reappointment should be reversed.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) last Monday launched a court application to block both Molefe’s R30m pension payout and his return as CEO.

Brown’s appearance was announced by the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises on Monday after it cancelled last week’s meeting on the matter.

Natasha Mazzone, the DA’s spokesperson on Public Enterprises, said Brown has confirmed her attendance.

“It is imperative that the minister now stick to that commitment considering that she bunked out of accounting to Parliament last week, on the basis of a legally inadequate argument that the Brian Molefe matter was sub judice,” she said in a statement.

The DA requested the following documentation in preparation of the committee’s inquiry:

• Minutes from Eskom’s board meetings related to the reappointment of Molefe as Eskom CEO.

• Molefe’s original contract of employment, in addition to his current contract of reappointment.

• The letter from the board instructing Molefe’s R30m pension payout.

• The letter from Brown giving the Eskom board the go-ahead to reappoint Molefe as Eskom CEO. DM