Three in the dock for Tutuka fraud, corruption with more arrests expected
Eskom’s investigations have established the existence of a syndicate responsible for the theft of approximately R100 million worth of fuel oil per month from the power station
Two Eskom employees who were arrested on Thursday at Tutuka Power Station have appeared in the Standerton Magistrate’s Court.
This is according to Eskom's Sikonathi Mantshantsha who says a supplier who is also a suspect in the case was arrested Friday.
"All three suspects were charged with fraud, theft, and corruption in a crime in which hundreds of millions of rands in goods and services have been paid by Eskom when such have not been delivered or rendered at the Power Station," he says.
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Mantshantsha says the arrests followed months of internal investigative work by Eskom, in cooperation with the law enforcement agencies in Mpumalanga.
"Eskom’s investigations have also established the existence of a syndicate responsible for the theft of approximately R100 million worth of fuel oil per month from the power station," he says.
The suspects, Jessie Phindile Kubeka, who is 51% shareholder in a supplier company; Eskom employees Sarah Nomsa Sibiya (Senior Technician Operating) and Bhekizizwe Solomon Twala (Senior Storeperson), are all facing the same charges.
They were released on bail of R5 000 each.
The trial has been set to down for 21 February 2022.
Mantshantsha adds that it is anticipated that four other suspects involved in the same scheme are expected to be arrested during
the course of next week.
"Further, warrants of arrest are being prepared concerning other suspects in the fuel oil syndicate," he says.
“Eskom, and Tutuka power station in particular, continues to be the scene of the most despicable of crimes perpetrated by some of the very people tasked with the stewardship of this public institution and by unscrupulous suppliers,” said Eskom CEO, Andre de Ruyter.
“Whilst these investigations take a long time to come to fruition, the wins whereby arrests are made and criminals are brought to answer for their unlawful conduct, goes a long way towards making a positive contribution to the rebuilding of the organisation.”
While the management team and Board are currently seized with the restoration of operations across
