Matshela Koko corruption case struck off the roll
Former interim Eskom CEO Matshela Koko says he is ready to answer to the charges against him once the state gets its house in order.
The multi-billion rand fraud and corruption case against Koko and his co-accused - which include members of his family - was struck off the court roll in the Middelburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday afternoon.
The court found that there had been unreasonable delays in the case against Koko and his co-accused.
Magistrate Stanley Jacob said the National Prosecuting Authority would have to provide a letter from the National Director for Public Prosecutions to re-enrol the matter.
Speaking to media outside court, Koko said South Africans deserve answers.
"I think South Africans have been taking for a ride - justice cuts both ways. Put yourself in the shoes of South Africans that are innocent, that are law-abiding - they expect these charges to be answered - and by the way, I will answer them."
Meanwhile, spokesperson for the NPA’s Investigating Directorate Sindisiwe Seboka said the state would abide by the judgment, but won't rush to reinstate the matter.
"In order to be able to bring people to court, to formulate charge sheets and essentially indictments to be ventilated in our higher courts - it does take time because of the complexities, the systems, the enablers and that are doing those things. So, we won't be putting a time frame or any further pressure on the Investigating Directorate until we've remedied the issues that the magistrate says we must look into."
Earlier, the court found in favour of Koko in his unreasonable delay application - and refused the state's application for another postponement.
The group faced charged of fraud, corruption, and money laundering relating to the irregular awarding of multi-billion contracts for work at the Kusile Power Station to companies linked to Koko’s friends and family.
The accused were arrested in October 2022 and released on bail.
Koko added that he was targeted.
"What you see here is a hate crime - what has happened to me and my family is nothing else but a hate crime - it's hate for Koko. It should never happen to my family."
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