A leadership tussle at recruitment and placements firm Kelly Group has escalated further with yet another executive linked to ousted deputy CEO Mthunzi Mdwaba facing disciplinary charges.
Connie Motshumi, the group’s business development director, has been charged with defrauding the business, a source has revealed to TechCentral.
The source, who asks to remain anonymous because of the sensitive nature of the situation, says Motshumi’s charges relate to travel expenses that the group says she inflated.
But it’s understood the amount being disputed is less than R150.
According to the source, Mwdaba recruited Motshumi to the Kelly Group.
Earlier this year, Lumka Gallant, another executive recruited by Mwaba, was accused of a similar transgression. Gallant is understood to be defending the charges, though it’s not clear whether her case will be heard internally or in court.
Motshumi declines to comment on the matter. However, the source says Motshumi had been expecting some animosity from Kelly’s executive management team because of the mysterious treatment of Mdwaba.
Mdwaba, a well-known IT industry personality, was removed from his position as deputy CEO of Kelly at the end of August. He has also been stripped of his directorship and suspended from the company.
Mdwaba is CEO of Kelly’s technology training subsidiary, Torque IT.
At the time, Kelly Group CEO Grenville Wilson was evasive and refused to say why Mdwaba had been removed as a director, saying it was a board issue.
The group lifted his suspension days after it first made the announcement. However, Mdwaba has been on leave until his case is heard under private arbitration, which is expected to take place next month.
The dispute appears to be related to a fall-out between Mdwaba and Wilson. However, a source says he has been charged for not disclosing a debt he owes involving a failed business he opened before joining Kelly Group.
Mdwaba has reportedly paid off the debt, which he owed in his personal capacity.
Wilson is in Cape Town and could not be reached for comment. — Candice Jones, TechCentral
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