Former Eskom Chief Executive Officer Matshela Koko says he is vindicated after the Middleburg Magistrates Court struck off the roll the R2.2 billion Eskom Kusile fraud, corruption, and money-laundering charges case.
The National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, is accusing Koko of siphoning the money to his family, friends, and other suspects.
Presiding Magistrate Stanley Jacobs denied the NPA another postponement, struck the case of the roll, until the NPA and the National Director of Public Prosecutions got their house in order.
He also ruled that the case has been long delayed and unreasonably so.
Both the NPA and NDPP had argued for a four-month postponement to finalise their investigations and to consult with some of the overseas based witnesses.
Koko welcomed the judgment and lambasted the NPA for “ill-preparedness.”
“I think South Africans are being taken for a ride, the NPA is doing South Africans a big disservice. You can’t make such allegations, investigate them for more than five years, and bring them to court. You wake me up at 6 o’clock in the morning, more than 12 months ready, you’re not ready to go to trial. What we see here is hate crime,” said Koko.
He accused the state of a hate crime, adding that they wanted to destroy his family and closed their account to obliterate them. Koko said he is not deterred that the charges might be brought back in the future.
“Justice cuts both ways. Put yourselves in the shoes of South Africans that are innocent, law abiding. They expect these serious charges to be answered. I’ll answer them when they come,” warned Koko.
Koko, who had been fingered in the State Capture Commission for corruption during his tenure at the entity, also had scathing remarks about the commission.
“You might as well take the Eskom chapter of the state capture commission and throw it in the bin. It means nothing. South Africans have been taken for a ride here, its hate crime what is happening,” explained Koko.
Meanwhile, the Investigating Directorate National Spokesperson, Sindisiwe Seboka, welcomed the judgment and said they’re still going to study it.
She said they’re happy that the judge did not rule on the merits of the case.
“The magistrates ruling is based on procedural issues, that the delay is unreasonable, not on the merits of the case. We abide by the judgment, going to study it and remedy some of the mistakes we might have made,” said Seboka. She highlighted that for now, there’s no time frame to bring back the matter on the court’s roll.
