By Thys Khiba
The R2.2 billion corruption case against former Eskom boss Matshela Koko and others has been removed from the roll by the Middelburg Specialised Commercial Court on Tuesday.
The magistrate, Stanley Jacobs told the State that it should bring the matter back to court with a letter from the National Director of Public Prosecutions confirming that the case is ready for trial. He indicated that the judgement is not a pronouncement of the innocence or guilt of the accused.
“No one must say I am victorious today as the outcome for today has to do with the interest of justice. The court must be mindful of allegations against the accused, and the investigation’s integrity must also be kept intact,” he said.
The case can be re-enrolled at a later stage.
The matter against Koko and his co-accused has been delayed unreasonable. The findings were shared by the court after it held an inquiry to establish whether there had been any unreasonable delays in the case.
The court said it was unacceptable that the State was still asking for a postponement on a case it had been investigating since 2017.
The sitting magistrate said he had considered the constitutional rights of Koko and his co-accused to a speedy trial, and his decision to remove the matter from the roll had nothing to do with the case’s merits – it had to do with procedure.
Koko was accused of being “at the centre of a corrupt scheme”, which sought to assist Swiss engineering firm ABB get a lucrative R2.2 billion contract at the Kusile Power Station in Mpumalanga. He was also accused of using his influence at Eskom to swing the contract in their favour, an elaborate network of participants received kickbacks, and millions were allegedly ploughed into companies connected to his daughters.
The list of the accused includes his wife, Mosima Koko, stepdaughters, Koketso Aren and Thato Choma, former SA Local Government Association chief executive Thabo Mokwena, lawyer Johannes Coetzee, Watson Seswai, senior Eskom project director Hlupheka Sithole, Sunil Vip, Markus Bruegmann, Gopal Kambi, Lesetsa Mutchinya and companies linked to some of them who were charged in October last year.
CentralNewsZa
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