The Middelburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court made a significant decision on Tuesday, removing the fraud, corruption, and money laundering case against former Eskom boss Matshela Koko from the docket due to unreasonable delays.
The pivotal ruling in one of South Africa’s major state capture cases was handed down by Mpumalanga magistrate Stanley Jacobs. He emphasized that the charges related to the R2.2 billion Kusile case involving Koko could only proceed after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head, Advocate Shamila Batohi, gave her approval.
Magistrate Jacobs firmly rejected the Investigating Directorate of the NPA’s request for a further postponement, stating that an inquiry into the unreasonable delay revealed significant lapses in the case’s progression. He outlined that if reinstatement were to occur, a written letter from the NDDP must be obtained.
The NPA’s reputation suffered another blow with this development, especially following recent setbacks in the Nulane case in Bloemfontein and the unsuccessful extradition of the Guptas from the United Arab Emirates last year. The Kusile case had been classified by the NPA as one of its nine “seminal” state capture cases.
Matshela Koko and seven co-accused, including his wife Mosima and stepdaughters Koketso Aren and Thato Choma, were arrested in October of the previous year. The court had signaled in March that if the state couldn’t confirm the completion of its investigations by the September hearing, section 342A of the Criminal Procedure Act would be considered.
Despite having been granted two six-month postponements in October of the preceding year and in March, the state requested an additional six-month postponement in September. The accused also include Hlupheka Sithole, Eskom’s former project director at Kusile, lawyer Johannes Coetzee, Watson Seswai, Lese’tsa Johannes Mutchinya, and former South African Local Government Association (Salga) CEO Thabo Mokwena. Mutchinya, a businessman, was added to the case in August.
The case revolves around corruption charges related to a R2.2 billion control and instrumentation tender awarded to Zabb, the local division of the Swedish-Swiss firm ABB. Koko, who served as Eskom group CEO at the time, is alleged to have played a crucial role in awarding contracts to Impulse International, ABB, and other subcontractors.
Section 324A of the Criminal Procedure Act empowers the court to investigate unreasonable delays that could cause substantial prejudice to any involved parties in pending criminal proceedings.