Matshela Koko in court on Thursday. (Photo: Bonga Mahlangu) The eight were arrested on Thursday following a joint operation by the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Investigating Directorate (ID). They were arrested in Gauteng and Mpumalanga. The eight are among a total of 17 accused in this matter, according to the charge sheet.
The accused include:
- Former SA Local Government Association chief executive Thabo Mokwena;
- Eskom’s former interim chief executive Matshela Koko;
- Koko’s wife, Mosima;
- Koko’s stepdaughters, Koketso Aren and Thato Choma;
- Eskom project director at Kusile (most senior on site) Hlupheka Sithole;
- Lawyer Johannes Coetzee; and
- Watson Seswai.
Koko and his co-accused appeared in the Middelburg Magistrates’ Court on Thursday on charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering.
Bail proceedings were under way at the time of publication.
ID national spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka said the charges stem from alleged irregular contracts valued at more than R2-billion granted for the building of the power station.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/WITBANK-6543.jpg "The accused in the Middelburg Magistrates’ Court on Thursday. (Photo: Bonga Mahlangu)")
Construction on Kusile – one of South Africa’s “newer” coal-fired power stations – began in 2008 alongside the Medupi power station. In the National Assembly in September, President Cyril Ramaphosa said it would cost R33-billion to complete both.
Read in Daily Maverick: “Zondo arrests: Four held over corruption at Eskom’s Kusile Power Station”
In a statement, Seboka said: “The matter emanates from a long investigation that commenced in 2017 and [was] handed over to the Investigating Directorate. When we started in 2019 we also got some assistance from the SIU so it is a multi-agency initiative that led to the result.”
See the charge sheet against the 17 here:
Seboka said the latest arrests are not necessary on the recommendation of the Zondo Commission, but emphasised that the ID strongly believes that they are part of State Capture. DM
This is a developing story and shall be updated
Read in Daily Maverick: “Eskom Calls For More Arrests After Ex-ABB Employees Apprehended”
Also read in Daily Maverick: “Eskom: Zuma, Molefe, Koko and Singh branded key players in State Capture”