National Prosecuting Authority Investigative Directorate (NPA ID) head, Advocate Andrea Johnson, says the prosecutorial body will continue to serve without fear or favour.
This after the arrest and court appearance of seven people in the Middelburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on charges of corruption, fraud and money laundering related to a R2.2 billion Rand control and instrumentation contract at Eskom’s Kusile Power Station.
The accused are:
Former SA Local Government Association (SALGA) Chief Executive Thabo Mokwena.
Former Eskom interim Chief Executive Matšhela Koko, his wife, Mosima Koko, and Koko’s stepdaughters Koketso Aren and Thato Choma.
Eskom Project Director at Kusile Hlupheka Sithole.
Lawyers Johannes Coetzee and Watson Seswai.
“This arrest is about accountability and rule of law. We must execute the NPA’s constitutional mandate for justice – it is imperative for the country and its people that we serve without fear, favour or prejudice,” she said.
NPA spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka explained that the charges against the seven emanate from the alleged irregular appointment of Swiss engineering company, Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), to do work at the Kusile power station.
“The State alleges that [then] Group Executive Technology and Commercial [Matšhela] Koko influenced and abused his position to have Siemens, Billfinger-Mauell and ABB invited to bid to a closed tender [for the control and instrumentation contract]. ABB was awarded the multimillion rand contract.
“The State alleges that it then resulted in ABB South Africa appointing a company owned by Thabo Mokwena to provide skills development and industrialisation (SDL) work to the value of R96 million contract, excluding VAT,” she said.
Seboka added that in 2016, Sithole added four variations to the ABB contract which were not covered in the original contract and that this was “the first attempt to launder money on behalf of Koko”.
It is also alleged that ABB illegally subcontracted Impulse International – a company Koko’s stepdaughter Koketso Choma was a director in – and other companies.
“In 2015- 2017 several contracts were awarded of which four form part of this matter for Impulse International. They were for providing Eskom and Rotek Industries with SAP work packages, specialised engineers and managers to oversee the different interphase contractors amongst other functions. The state further alleges that a portion of these contracts was used to butter hands.
“It is alleged that money laundering vehicles were set up by Coetzee to siphon money from Impulse International to benefit the Koko family,” she said.
Choma later resigned from Impulse International and opened the Mokoni Trust where Impulse allegedly paid monies into for the distribution to businesses and various channels linked to the Koko family.
Special Investigating Unit spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago welcomed the arrests and said the corruption busting unit is still proceedings with civil proceedings to have the contract reviewed and set aside.
“The arrest of Koko and seven others is a clear determination by law enforcement agencies and a continuation of the implementation of the SIU investigation outcomes and consequence management to recover assets and financial losses suffered by State institutions and/or to prevent further losses.
“The SIU has instituted a process of civil litigation…to recover further financial losses suffered by Eskom from all those who are involved and to hold them to account. Other administrative and national and international regulatory consequences will follow including pursuing the blacklisting of ABB,” Kganyago said.
In a 2020 settlement with the SIU, ABB paid back some R1.577 billion to Eskom which Kganyago said does “not absolve ABB, or anyone implicated from criminal prosecution”.
