Daily Maverick
Dailymaverick logo

South Africa

This article is more than a year old

MAVERICK NEWS

Senior Eskom employee among three arrested for R14m fraud at ailing power utility

Eskom's Matla Power Station in Mpumalanga has been hit with allegations of fraud and money laundering, as Thandeka Innocentia Nkosi, a senior buyer employed by the power utility, and two other accused face charges totalling R14-million. The fourth suspect is still at large, while the electricity minister has assured that Kusile Power Station's issues have nothing to do with 'so-called corruption'.
Senior Eskom employee among three arrested for R14m fraud at ailing power utility Adobe Stock | Thandeka Nkosi, a senior Eskom buyer, faces charges of fraud, theft and money laundering involving R14m. (Photo: Supplied) | A coal-fired power station, operated by Eskom in Mpumalanga. (Photo: Waldo Swiegers / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Vincent Cruywagen
By Vincent Cruywagen
22 Mar 2023
Facebook
30

Thandeka Innocentia Nkosi, a senior buyer employed by Eskom at the Matla Power Station in Mpumalanga, and two other accused, 71-year-old Rabela Sarah Jones and her son Godfrey Jason Jones (46), are accused of defrauding the power utility of more than R14-million. A warrant of arrest has been issued for a fourth suspect, who is still at large.

Nkosi and the younger Jones were released on R100,000 bail each, while the 71-year-old was released on R30,000 bail after a hearing at the Hendrina Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

Nkosi was arrested on 17 March and charged with theft, fraud and money laundering involving R14-million.

Nkosi’s appearance comes a day after Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, the minister of electricity, told the media during a tour of the Kusile Power Station that the challenges the facility was facing were technical problems which had nothing to do with ‘so-called corruption’.

The electricity minister’s visit to Kusile Power Station was part of his tour of Eskom’s 14 power stations to understand the core issues, resolve the load shedding crisis and implement the President’s Energy Action Plan.

The charges against Nkosi and her co-accused stem from an intensive investigation conducted by Eskom forensic investigators into money that had purportedly been stolen from the power utility.

Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Sekgotodi said the forensic investigators’ probe revealed fraud. The matter was referred to the Middelburg-based Hawks Specialised Commercial Crime Unit for further exploration.

“It was discovered that from March to April 2013, Nkosi, who was employed by Eskom at Matla Power Station as a senior buyer, allegedly colluded with his accomplices, a director of Angel Frost Investment. The accused… defrauded Eskom of R14,736,882,” Sekgotodi said.

Nkosi’s matter is one of 131 Eskom-related cases with the SA Police Service (SAPS), while the Hawks had 83 cases across six provinces, with 18 in court.

The Eskom cases before courts include:

  1. Ex-Eskom executive France Hlakudi is one of several people accused of fraud, corruption and money laundering in connection with an allegedly fraudulent R745-million contract involving the Kusile Power Station.
  2. In March 2022, the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a freezing order valued at R2.4-billion related to the Optimum Coal Mine and its assets, bought with the proceeds of crime by the Gupta-owned Tegeta company.
  3. In October 2022, former Eskom acting CEO Matshela Koko, his wife and two stepdaughters were among eight people arrested on corruption charges relating to a multimillion-rand irregular contract for building the Kusile Power Station. The charges stem from a 2015 contract awarded to the Swiss conglomerate Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) to install control and instrumentation systems at the power station.
  4. In November 2022, two security guards were arrested in connection with the theft of diesel worth R145,930 from an Eskom plant. The guards were employed by a security company contracted by Eskom and had been guarding the Port Rex gas turbine station in East London.
  5. Also in November  2022, Eskom reported multiple arrests linked to sabotage, coal theft and coal fraud at Camden Power Station.
  6. Around 30 November 2022, a truck driver and his supervisor from a transport company subcontracted to haul coal to Eskom were arrested at the Matla Power Station. The arrests took place after the truck driver was found to be in possession of subgrade coal destined for the facility.
  7. Angelo Cysman, a 40-year-old plant operator at the Ankerlig Power Station in Atlantis, is accused of stealing diesel worth R500,000. He was released on R50,000 bail by the Atlantis Magistrates’ Court in December last year. It is alleged he allowed a vehicle to collect stolen diesel from the site, declared the diesel tanker was empty and all the fuel offloaded, and then allowed the vehicle to leave with the stolen load.

Nkosi and her co-accused are back in the Hendrina Magistrates’ Court on 5 May. DM

Comments (10)

Colleen Dardagan Mar 23, 2023, 09:19 AM

Good to hear that someone is being held accountable - but that was under De Ruyter's watch - I reckon this will be the last one.

Neil Parker Mar 23, 2023, 11:01 AM

The ANC is on a mission to "whitewash" all the corruption allegations and no doubt we'll end up hearing about some or other dastardly plot by white monopoly capitalists to sabotage the State. With de Ruyter as the master villain. That's already the line taken by Mr Trash Mantashe. I recommend everyone listen to the full 1 hour Annika Larsen interview with De Ruyter.

Just another Comment Mar 23, 2023, 11:48 PM

Wasn't under De Ruyter's watch. He joined Eskom in 2018. This corruption started in 2013.

Len Ritchie Mar 24, 2023, 09:22 AM

OP meant that the accountability happened under De Ruyter’s watch, not the corruption.

Richard Bryant Mar 23, 2023, 10:19 AM

Why the deathly silence about David Mabuza? When Ramaphosa appointed him as DP, the New York Times ran a full feature about his involvement in criminal networks in Mpumalanga particularly regarding the acquisition of land through false land claims. Ramaphosa ignored those serious allegations and maintained him as DP. In 2009, a large amount of cash was stolen from his farmhouse in Mpumalanga. R14m reportedly. (sounds familiar?). Ramaphosa didn’t seem to ask where he would get so much money and still appointed him DP. Fred Daniel has instituted a civil case against him for his involvement in an illegal land grab which deprived Daniel of his business. Mabuza has been employing every Stalingrad tool possible to prevent the case going forward (also sounds familiar). The case is pending. Based on evidence before the Court, his involvement looks very damning. Yet Ramaphosa maintained him as DP. Now we have the intelligence report that places Mabuza at the centre of a criminal network in Mpumalanga operating to sabotage Eskom. And Ramaphosa allows him to just resign from his position and wishes him well into his well deserved future. Either Ramaphosa knows about Mabuza’s involvement in criminal cartels and has done nothing about it. Or he doesn’t know anything. I’m not sure which is worse. Either way, Ramaphosa remains a serious problem when it comes to dealing with corruption in SA. My money is on he knows a lot and is covering it all up. Or he is also involved?

Tim Price Mar 23, 2023, 12:00 PM

Precisely - these cadres are as thick as the thieves that they are. Perhaps Ramashedding had a gents agreement with DD to turn a blind eye to his criminal enrichment operations or, DD has some serious dirt on Rama? Either way the whole situation is sickening.

Johann Olivier Mar 23, 2023, 04:35 PM

Shop steward to billionaire in the blink of an eye. Phala fail. Mates and appointments. And the band plays on and South Africans, sadly, cling desperately to the hope that by rearranging the deck chairs, the ship's captain will make a difference.

Rory Short Mar 23, 2023, 05:08 PM

The ANC has corruption in it's DNA so asking CR to do anything to clean it out is absolutely pointless. The only solution is for the electorate to abandon them in the elections in 2024.

Jane Crankshaw Mar 23, 2023, 06:37 PM

As “thick as thieves” describes the situation perfectly!

libby Mar 23, 2023, 08:17 PM

Mabuza has always only been a king-maker with very dirty business of his own. He served no purpose other than getting Cyril into the driver's seat to secure protection against investigation into his criminal activities, of which there are many. His health related trips to China, and stepping down as, under the radar, vice-president (president of vice) without any fuss, again for health reasons (funny how these guys develop health problems when the ice gets thin.) and the endless rumours doing the rounds - al very suspect. One can only wonder what he has on Cyril. Must be quite hectic.

Hermann Funk Mar 23, 2023, 01:20 PM

I am sooooo disappointed. I truly though our new MoE was a genius, after he diagnosed the cause of load shedding so quickly. But with all these charlatans, they talk before they think, since they believe that this kind of statements would divert our attention from the mafia called ANC.

Andrew W Mar 23, 2023, 05:28 PM

Looking at the thread here, our Minister of Energy simply reinforces a truism. If the ANC says it's not happening, then it's definitely going on, most likely with their involvement. ANC speak is 180 degrees away from the actual facts, almost always.

Pamela Grayman Mar 23, 2023, 06:14 PM

These people should be charged with high treason.

David Forbes Mar 23, 2023, 07:35 PM

But the follow up on the arrests etc needs to include CONVICTIONS and sentences. Some of those arrested have been freed.

Barry Taylor Mar 23, 2023, 07:52 PM

The sad part for me is that the minister thinks the public believe him Secondly it is an insult to any normal persons intelligence for the minister to think he is believed

Holly Golightly Mar 23, 2023, 08:37 PM

Middle name Innocentia? You cannot make this stuff up.

Geoff Woodruff Mar 23, 2023, 11:12 PM

I'm afraid that this electricity genius has been put in place to make sure that no well connected heads roll. Minister of the vanishing evidence I think.

Gerrit Marais Mar 23, 2023, 11:26 PM

Amazing how the MoE could so deftly determine that corruption is not the problem. A week or so into the job and he’s been able to track every billion spent to come to this conclusion. He either understands corruption very well or he’s more clueless than the rest. Probably both.