Johannesburg - The South African National Defence Union (SANDU) on Monday said it was "perplexed" by the call-up of Brian Molefe, an honorary colonel and would be laying a fraud complaint in that regard with the police.
Weekend reports suggested that Molefe has managed to progress from alleged Gupta lieutenant to a highly paid military colonel.
"It has only been a few months and Molefe has been called up to serve as a colonel in the army at R57,000 a month. Molefe started in August," reported the City Press.
Reacting to the reports, Advocate JG Pikkie Greeff, national secretary of SANDU said: "The news that Brian Molefe, an honorary colonel in the SANDF reserve, has been called up for active duty into the SANDF [South African Defence Force], is perplexing, to say the least".
An honorary colonel of the SANDF Reserve is not, by law eligible, for call-up into active duty.
"A valid call-up into active duty requires the incumbent to have a substantive military rank, obtained through military training, and the appropriate qualification(s). It also requires that the officer holds a commissioned rank. Molefe meets none of these requirements. Molefe's call up is thus unlawful and fraudulent," said Greeff.
"It is further outrageous that his pay has been back dated to a date when he was, in fact, not even on active duty, an act which in itself constitutes a separate count of fraud.
"It is incredulous that Molefe is involved in budgetary affairs of the SANDF, which inevitably provides him access to classified information, when he holds no security classification as is required by the Defence Act."'
Greeff said clearly some elements at managerial level in the SA Army have decided to show benevolence to Molefe in what is nothing else but a jobs-for-pals scandal.
"The Chief of the SA Army is hereby challenged to show the legality of Molefe's call-up. SANDU will file criminal charges this coming week against Molefe and further demand that his call-up be withdrawn immediately, failing which it will take the necessary legal action."
Greeff said Molefe must be brought to book together with whoever in the military "aided this fraud" and he must pay back the salary he received.
"Molefe is a fake officer who must not expect to be treated as a real one by SANDF members.There are thousands of qualified Reserve Force members, not called up for active service due to budgetary constraints within the SA Army, yet the same Army has no problem appointing a person illegally at R57,000 per month."
Molefe, who was sacked as Eskom chief executive officer in May over allegations of impropriety, and the SANDF could no be immediately reached for comment.