She had to answer to the state capture commission why she appeared to be interested in him and not the others.
A screengrab of former Eskom board member Venete Klein appearing at the state capture inquiry in Johanneburg on 10 September 2020. Picture: SABC/YouTube
JOHANNESBURG – Former Eskom board member Venete Klein said she didn’t favour Matshela Koko over the other three executives who were suspended in 2015.
She had to answer to the state capture commission why she appeared to be interested in him and not the others.
Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo asked her if she knew why Koko was the only one who got his job back when former CEO Tshediso Matona also wanted to return but was told that’s off the table.
Klein said she was part of the board panel who consulted the executives who were suspended.
So, the commission asked her why she went out of her way to find out if there were any findings of wrongdoing against Koko when she didn’t ask about the other executives.
She said to her knowledge Koko was the only one who told the board upfront that he wanted to go back.
And when he met with the panel, he said his blood was blue.
But Zondo told her that even Matona went to court to get his job back but Klein said she never heard him say he wanted to return.
She maintained the only reason for the suspensions was so that the executives wouldn’t delay the inquiry
