JOHANNESBURG – The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) says there’s a serious problem at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
This is after the case against former Eskom executive Matshela Koko and 18 others was struck from the roll by the Middelburg Regional Court on Tuesday.
The matter relates to billions of rands worth of contracts for work at the Kusile power station that allegedly went to companies linked to Koko’s friends and family.
The court scrapped the matter – for now at least – after finding there had been unreasonable delays, with the State still not ready to go to trial more than a year since the first arrests and some five years after investigations first got under way.
OUTA’s Wayne Duvenage: “OUTA’s view is that this is very disappointing. There’s enough evidence, there’s so much information of his role and others that were played in the awarding of the ABB [engineering firm] contracts of R2.2 billion.
“And this matter’s been under investigation for a long time. It’s just so sad that we sit here today in 2023 – five years after this case was first brought to the public’s attention – and there’s still no accountability.”
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Earlier this year, the accused in the Nulane matter – another seminal state capture case – were also acquitted.
Duvenage says it’s becoming “extremely frustrating” for civil society, adding that they want justice and for the prosecuting authorities to double down to get this case back before the court as soon as possible.
“We have a serious problem in the NPA when we have to have cases like this and the Nulane case struck off the roll and set aside. Justice delayed is justice denied. We want to see accountability.
“People like Matshela Koko and others have been in the headlines for far too long for the wrong reasons and they still roam the streets free, spending money that’s been made by all the activity and the nefarious conduct that’s taken place.”