Former Eskom chief executive Matshela Koko believes the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) misdirected itself when it did “somebody a favour” by charging him over the alleged R2.2 billion Kusile fraud and corruption case, which was struck off the roll on Tuesday.
Koko was arrested in October last year along with his wife Mosima, and his stepdaughters Koketso Aren and Thato Choma.
Also in the dock were Eskom project director at Kusile Hlupheka Sithole, lawyer Johannes Coetzee, Watson Seswai, and Lese’tsa Johannes Mutchinya who were facing fraud, corruption, and money laundering charges relating to the irregular awarding of multibillion-rand contracts for work at the Kusile Power Station to companies linked to Koko’s friends and family.
Koko, who has over the years protested his innocence, said he has been singled out for persecution to settle scores against him and his family.
“What is hurtful to me is that the NPA was commended by well-respected constituencies in our society for the unlawful arrests. A cabinet decision was taken on January 18, 2018, to dismiss me from Eskom because the Cabinet in its wisdom decided I was corrupt. President Cyril Ramaphosa admitted on August 11, 2021, at the Zondo Commission that he fired me, but it was a joint decision of the Cabinet.
“He claimed that he fired me because he wanted to avert a severe crisis at Eskom when in truth he was collapsing Eskom so that it could be unbundled to allow IPPs unfettered access at the expense of Eskom,” Koko said in a statement posted on social media platform X.
The magistrate on Tuesday said the NPA must provide a letter from the NDPP if it wants to re-enrol the case.
Speaking about the impact the case had on his family, Koko said: “I am convinced that South Africans have a very exaggerated sense of the rule of law.
They don't think my family has rights as in the Bill of Rights.
“This is a persecution. That is why the banks have terminated my family's bank accounts because of this criminal matter.
The aim is to destroy and liquidate my family without the benefit of a fair trial. I have been rendered stateless in my country of birth. What happened to me and my family is a hate crime. I don't wish it on anyone.”
In a statement last night, the NPA’s Investigating Directorate (ID) expressed confidence that the matter would be re-enrolled as soon as outstanding aspects of the investigation were completed.
“The issues raised by the court have been noted. The delays were not anticipated at the time of the arrest of the accused, due to the complex nature of the case, the extent and the sheer volume, and the digital nature of the evidence seized, in particular subsequent to the arrest and enrolment.
Work on the compilation of the outstanding reports is ongoing. The ID will reapply for the matter to be re-enrolled within a reasonable period of time.”
Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions Rodney de Kock defended the organisation against the narrative that the NPA was doing nothing insofar as the Zondo Commission’s recommendations were concerned.
The commission was where most of the allegations against Koko were heard.
De Kock told the justice and correctional services portfolio committee that the NPA valued the work of the Zondo Commission and through its recommendations, they were pointed to areas they needed to focus on.
“The narrative that the NPA is doing nothing is both wrong and dangerous. With the prosecution of high-profile government and private sector actors, impunity no longer prevails.
“The Zondo Commission’s findings do not provide a blueprint for successful prosecution of cases. Successful prosecution is far more complex,” De Kock said.
He told the committee that the NPA’s approach in prioritising cases was to prosecute cases that will deliver the most impact and to also focus on cases that have been most damaging to constitutional democracy.
The NPA has laid a solid foundation and made a start in dealing with complex corruption cases. DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach said the NPA was not fast-tracking cases.
“The NPA is playing catch-up.”
EFF MP Busisiwe Mkhwebane said law enforcement agencies were effecting arrests only for postponements of court cases.
“Why rush to arrest and when a person appears in court, you find matters dragging for two or three years without a proper charge sheet?”
Cape Times