Former Eskom senior managers granted bail

Former Eskom group executive for Group Capital Division Abram Abie Masango aged 51, former Eskom senior manager for Group Capital Division France Hlakudi aged 48, as well as Antonio Jose Trindade and Hudson Kgomoeswana appeared in the Johannesburg Regional Court on Thursday, 19 December.

The court instructed that they surrender their passports to the investigative officer.

The four were arrested in the early hours of Thursday in connection with fraud and corruption committed at Kusile which is located in Mpumalanga.

According to Hawks spokesperson, Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi, investigations began when suspicions were raised into the construction of two large projects at Medupi and Kusile power stations.

Gross manipulation of contractual agreements

The investigation revealed the apparent gross manipulation of contractual agreements between contractors, Eskom employees and third parties at Kusile.

In June 2015, Eskom’s Kusile Project management team submitted a request to Eskom Procurement Committee for a mandate to negotiate and conclude a contract with one of the companies.

The contract was approved in 2015 for R745m to build two air cooled condensers (ACC) units at Kusile. It is alleged that from February 2015 to July 2017, the appointed companies, other related entities and individuals shared approximately R30m amongst themselves.

The case was postponed to 25 May 2020 with a possibility of further arrests.