It was widely reported on Friday morning that Eskom’s former chief executive, Brian Molefe, would return as head of the state-owned utility on Monday.

The news was confirmed by Eskom spokesperson Khulani Qoma in a radio interview: “Definitely‚ he is coming back on Monday.”

It was also confirmed that Molefe had resigned as a member of parliament.

Molefe stepped down as Eskom CEO in November after being linked to the Gupta family, and has been dogged by controversy since.

The latest twist comes after Eskom’s board rescinded his application for early retirement and a reported R30-million pension payout, because it could not agree with him “on a mutually beneficial pension proposal”.