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) 
The Hawks’ Middelburg-based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit arrested Nontuthubo Surprise Mahweliri (44), a manager at Eskom’s Hendrina Power Station in Mpumalanga, and her alleged accomplice, Mokgawa Recca Sewla (39), on Wednesday on charges of fraud, theft and money laundering.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IMG-20240207-WA0060.jpg "Nontuthubo Surprise Mahweliri (44), a manager at Eskom’s Hendrina Power Station in Mpumalanga, was arrested on charges of fraud, theft and money laundering. (Photo: Supplied / Hawks)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IMG-20240207-WA0061.jpg "Mokgawa Recca Sewla, arrested on charges of fraud, theft, and money laundering, was released on R50,000 bail. (Photo: Supplied / Hawks)")
Mahweliri and Sewla were charged alongside Mahwerili’s company NKG Trading Investment, and Dithari Funding, of which Sewla is a director. According to the Hawks, Mahweliri had denied she was doing business with Eskom.
“During [the] investigation, it was revealed that [Mahwerili] was a shareholder at NKG and Dithari. Both companies were conducting business with Eskom.
“This was discovered on the declaration forms and tender documents submitted by NKG and Dithari Funding to Eskom. As a result, Eskom suffered an actual loss of R1,082,884.51,” said Mpumalanga Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Sekgotodi.
Mahwerili and Sewla appeared in the Hendrina Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday and were released on R50,000 bail.
The matter was postponed to 19 February at the Middelburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court.
Past arrests
Other people arrested and charged with alleged Eskom fraud and corruption in Mpumalanga include Nozipho Ntuli, a senior buyer at Eskom’s coal-fired Duvha Power Station, and three c0- accused: George Edward Sekatane (43), Alfred Lebohang Sekatane (60) and Thulani Harris Mkhabela (40).
They were arrested in March 2023 in Witbank on fraud and corruption charges.
The alleged fraud and corruption at Duvha Power Station occurred between 2016 and 2019 when contracts were allegedly awarded without adhering to established supply chain management processes.
Further investigation by the Hawks revealed that the companies Phoenix and Itereleng Masheleng, allegedly owned by Ntuli’s boyfriend, George Sekatane, and Hustle Hard, owned by Thulani Harris Mkhabela, were awarded the dubious contracts. Eskom lost an estimated R4.9-million.
On 17 March 2023, Thandeka Innocentia Nkosi, a senior buyer at the Matla Power Station in Mpumalanga, was arrested on corruption, fraud and money laundering charges.
Nkosi, 71-year-old Rabela Sarah Jones and her son Godfrey Jason Jones (46) were accused of defrauding the power utility of R14.7-million. Two months later, Portuguese national Maria Cantelo (53), was also linked to the corruption and fraud and appeared in the Hendrina Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
A fifth suspect in that case, Patric Patrese Jones (55), was arrested on September 7 in Gordon’s Bay, Western Cape.
The NPA has, however, been criticised for failing to successfully prosecute complex financial crimes related to Eskom.
One of the largest Eskom corruption cases, the R2.2-billion Kusile State Capture corruption case, was struck off the roll in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Middelburg on 21 November due to “unreasonable delays” after the NPA’s Investigating Directorate (ID) requested yet another postponement.
Read more in Daily Maverick: NPA’s bungled Matshela Koko Kusile corruption case sounds alarm bells over directorate’s preparedness to prosecute
However, the ID has said it is confident that the case will be re-enrolled as soon as the remaining aspects of the investigation are completed. DM