Mbabane – Former Eswatini Beverages Limited manager Sipho Israel Khoza has accused the company of deliberately withholding documents needed for the processing of his pension benefits, while opposing its High Court application linked to alleged financial discrepancies.
Khoza claims the company had already received his pension withdrawal form in August but failed to submit it to Sivuno Provident Fund, leaving him without access to his benefits after resigning from his employment.
In an answering affidavit filed before the High Court in case 2424/2026, Khoza argues that Eswatini Beverages approached the court with “dirty hands” and created its own urgency by waiting nearly two months after his resignation before seeking the interim order.
He wants the application dismissed with costs and the company ordered to sign and submit his pension withdrawal form to the provident fund.
According to Khoza, he resigned with immediate effect on July 14, 2026. He says the company sent him a pension withdrawal form on July 29 and instructed him to undergo exit medical examinations.
He claims he completed the medical examinations at Matsapha Clinic Group and returned the form electronically on July 31. After the company’s receptionist informed him that the attachment could not be opened, he says he personally delivered the form to the company on August 4.
Khoza alleges that he was told his pension payment would be processed within 10 days after the form was sent to the provident fund.
However, he claims that when he visited Sivuno Provident Fund’s offices in Mbabane on September 3 to follow up on the payment, he was informed that his documents had not been submitted.
He alleges that he overheard a telephone conversation in which the company’s receptionist indicated that her superiors had instructed her to set aside his form and not forward it to the fund.
Khoza says he subsequently emailed the company’s finance manager, Zwelonke Maseko, seeking an explanation for the delay. He claims he visited the provident fund again on September 17 and was told that the required documents had still not been received.
He says the situation prompted his attorneys to issue a letter of demand on September 25, after which the company approached the court.
Khoza argues that the company knew he intended to claim his pension benefits and had sufficient time to institute proceedings earlier if it believed there was a legal basis to do so.
The dispute also involves allegations of financial discrepancies which Khoza denies. He maintains that the company has not presented sufficient evidence linking him to the alleged losses and argues that Section 32(2)(a) of the Retirement Funds Act of 2005 requires a judgment establishing unlawful activity, or a qualifying written acknowledgement of culpability, before an employer can seek to deduct losses from a member’s retirement benefits.
Khoza further claims that he was prepared to attend a disciplinary hearing before resigning but believed the process was unfair. He alleges that he was denied representation by an external representative and that the company’s country director, who was also the initiator of the disciplinary proceedings, had already made comments suggesting his guilt.
He says he intends to pursue a separate claim for constructive dismissal before the Industrial Court.
In his affidavit, Khoza also disputes aspects of the company’s account concerning a project to paint outlets. He claims he was involved in the exercise and that the first outlet painted, KwaMthunyelelwa Bar in Manzini, received approval from company leadership.
He maintains that the project’s finances were handled by the finance department and says he attached available expense records to his affidavit.
Khoza also alleges that he alerted the company’s Finance Department to an erroneous payment connected to the disciplinary charge and later returned the money to the supplier. He says proof of the transfer is attached to his affidavit.
A former employee, Sindiswa Msibi, has filed a confirmatory affidavit supporting Khoza’s account of certain stock-related matters. Msibi alleges that Charles Ngwenya, an events and assets representative at the company, instructed him to deliver stock to the Hot Bar and would sometimes direct him to meet at secluded places to hand over stock for Ngwenya’s personal consumption. These allegations have not been tested in court.
Khoza argues that the company’s application was brought in bad faith and could prejudice his future employment by placing allegations against him in the public domain. He denies committing the alleged offences and says he is willing to assist any criminal investigation.
The matter was before the High Court, with Justice S. Masuku presiding. According to the court record, it was postponed on October 13 to November 23, 2026.
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