Advocate Andrea Johnson, head of the National Prosecuting Authority Investigative Directorate (NPA ID), asserts that the prosecutorial body would continue to serve without fear or favor.
This follows the arrest and court appearance of seven individuals charged with corruption, fraud, and money laundering in connection with an 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 responsibility and lawfulness. “We must implement the NPA’s constitutional responsibility for justice – it is crucial for the country and its citizens that we serve without fear, favor, or bias,” she stated.
Sindisiwe Seboka, a spokeswoman for the NPA, revealed that the accusations against the seven individuals stem from the alleged irregular employment of Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) to perform work at the Kusile power facility.
“The State says that [then] Group Executive Technology and Commercial [Mathela] Koko influenced and abused his position to ask Siemens, Billfinger-Mauell, and ABB to participate in a closed tender [for the control and instrumentation contract]. ABB was given the contract for millions of rands.
“The State alleges that this led to ABB South Africa appointing a firm owned by Thabo Mokwena to offer skills development and industrialisation (SDL) work for R96 million, minus VAT,” she explained.
Seboka stated that Sithole created four changes to the ABB contract that were not covered by the original contract in 2016, and that this was “Koko’s first attempt to launder money.”
ABB is also accused of fraudulently subcontracting Impulse International, where Koko’s stepdaughter Koketso Choma served as director, and other businesses.
“In 2015-2017, Impulse International was awarded four contracts, four of which are relevant to this case. Among other things, they were for providing Eskom and Rotek Industries with SAP work packages, specialized engineers, and managers to monitor the various interphase contractors. In addition, the state asserts that a portion of these contracts were utilized to grease palms.
“It is alleged that Coetzee established money laundering vehicles to siphon money from Impulse International for the benefit of the Koko family,” she stated.
Later, Choma resigned from Impulse International and established the Mokoni Trust, into which Impulse allegedly contributed funds for distribution to businesses and various channels associated with the Koko family.
Kaizer Kganyago, a spokesperson for the Special Investigating Team, praised the arrests and stated that the anti-corruption unit is currently pursuing civil actions to have the contract reviewed and voided.
“The arrest of Koko and seven others represents a clear determination by law enforcement agencies and a continuation of the implementation of the SIU investigation outcomes and consequence management in order to recover assets and financial losses incurred by State institutions and/or prevent additional losses.
“The SIU has initiated civil litigation…to collect additional financial damages incurred by Eskom from all parties implicated and to hold them accountable.” Other administrative, national, and international regulatory ramifications, including the pursuit of a blacklisting of ABB, will follow, said Kganyago.
ABB repaid R1.577 billion to Eskom as part of a settlement with the SIU in 2020, which Kganyago claimed “does not free ABB or anyone implicated from criminal prosecution.”