Former Eskom boss out on bail after arrest for corruption

FORMER acting CEO of Eskom Matshela Koko, his wife Mosima and his two stepdaughters, Thato Choma and Koketso Aren, are out on bail after their arrests at dawn yesterday in connection with a case relating to corruption in the building of Eskom’s Kusile Power Station.

The Koko family were arrested with four others, former SA Local Government Association CEO Thabo Mokwena, Eskom Kusile project director Hlupheka Sithole, lawyer Johannes Coetzee and Watson Seswai, who were also released on bail.

They made an appearance at the Mpumalanga Middelburg Magistrate’s Court. National spokesperson of the NPA’s Investigating Directorate (ID) Sindisiwe Seboka said they were arrested on charges arising from irregular contracts granted for the building of the Kusile power station worth more than R2 billion while Koko was a senior executive at Eskom.

In 2015, Eskom entered into a deal with Swiss engineering company Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) under which the group subcontracted a local firm, Impulse International. Choma was a shareholder at Impulse and allegedly received R30 million from the deal. Some of the proceeds allegedly flowed to Mosima Koko.

In July, two former ABB employees were arrested with their wives, for Eskom-related corruption-linked contracts, involving R549.6m.

Mohammed and Raeesa Mooidheen, who were arrested in Middelburg and appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court, were granted bail of R50 000 and R30 000 each, while Vernon and Aradhna Pillay, who were arrested in Durban and appeared in the Durban Specialised Crimes Court, were granted bail of R20000 each.

The state capture inquiry, led by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, had recommended that Koko be investigated and possibly prosecuted for a series of Gupta-linked deals during his tenure at struggling Eskom.

Welcoming the arrest of the Kokos, trade union Solidarity claimed the arrests came after it filed criminal charges against Koko and others at the Brooklyn police station in Pretoria this year, with regard to state capture.

Solidarity legal affairs deputy CEO Anton van der Bijl said: “Although these arrests are positive, South African citizens now also deserve immediate action from the NPA as well as further action against the other alleged state capturers who appear in Solidarity’s criminal complaint.”

In May, Koko and another former Eskom executive Brian Molefe decried the Zondo report, questioning the recommendation that led to further investigations into their activities