Byline: Refeloe Letsoisa
19 March 2025
The six accused Mokete Mokhuthu (33), Thabiso Tsatsi (39), Candy Vincent Moloto (49), Cornelius Makgwale (50), Lindiwe Khumalo (48), and Poppy Martha Moloto (24) appeared at the eMalahleni Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 18 March 2025, facing charges of fraud and money laundering related to the procurement of a pump at Eskom.
Their arrests took place over the weekend following allegations of fraudulent activities at Eskom’s Kusile Power Station. It is alleged that in October 2018, a pump valued at R37,000 was fraudulently procured for R850,000 through a manipulated bidding process. 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 accused were granted bail of R60,000 each, with the conditions that they must not leave the country without notifying the investigating officer, they must report to the police station every Friday between 08h00 and 18h00, and they must surrender their travel documents to the investigating officer.
The suspects were detained on Saturday, 15 March 2025 and released on Tuesday, 18 March 2025, after securing bail.
The eMalahleni Magistrates’ Court has postponed the case against the six accused to 20 June 2025, for further investigations.
