Six Eskom employees accused of fraudulently reprocuring an industrial pump at 23 times its original price have been granted R60 000 bail each.
The suspects were arrested over the weekend after law enforcement officers raided Eskom’s Kusile power station in eMalahleni following a tip-off.
The suspects allegedly manipulated Eskom’s procurement system to approve the purchase of a pump that had already been acquired three years earlier.
The eMalahleni magistrate’s court heard that Eskom first procured the pump in 2015 for R37 000, but in 2018, the same equipment was purchased again — this time for a staggering R850 000.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the fraudulent transaction resulted in 2 200% price hike, exposing serious corruption within the power utility.
Bidding process manipulated
NPA regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa confirmed the findings.
“It is alleged that in October 2018, a pump valued at R37 000 was fraudulently procured for R850 000 through a manipulated bidding process,” said Nyuswa.
“Investigations later revealed that the same pump, bearing the identical serial number, had already been purchased in 2015.
“The fraudulent transaction resulted in Eskom incurring a loss of R850 000 after the invoice was processed and paid.
“The suspects were detained on Saturday and released on Tuesday after securing bail of R60 000 each.”
The accused — Mokete Mokhuthu (33), Thabiso Tsatsi (39), Candy Vincent Moloto (49), Cornelius Makgwale (50), Lindiwe Khumalo (48), and Poppy Martha Moloto (24) — face charges of fraud and money laundering.
The case has been postponed to June 20 for further investigation.
Broader crackdown on corruption
The prosecutor is expected to present more details on how the fraudulent procurement was processed and whether more Eskom employees or private contractors were involved.
As part of their bail conditions, the accused must surrender their passports, report to a police station every Friday, and notify investigators before leaving the country.
The case forms part of a broader crackdown on corruption within Eskom, as the power utility, in collaboration with law enforcement agencies, intensifies efforts to root out fraud and theft in its operations.
Eskom, working with the national joint operational and intelligence structure energy safety and security priority committee, has made multiple arrests in recent weeks.
If their passports have been surrender, how can they leave the voluntary?