FORMER public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba appears in court.
Gigaba appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Tuesday, 18 November, on corruption charges.
The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) confirmed in a statement that it has formally added Gigaba, who is also an ANC MP, as the fifth accused in a corruption case involving former Transnet executives.
Daily Sun reported on 7 November that the Idac had issued Gigaba with summons to appear in court.
At the time, Gigaba issued a statement promising that he would comply with police investigation.
"Dr Gigaba's court appearance relates to the period between November 2010 and May 2014, when the alleged offences were committed during his tenure as the minister in the Department of Public Enterprises," said Idac spokesman Henry Mamothame.
ALSO READ | School principal arrested for 'corruption'Opens in new window
"He is charged, together with Anoj Singh, the former Group Chief Financial Officer, Brian Molefe, former Group Chief Executive Officer of Transnet, Siyabonga Gama, former Chief Executive Officer and Thamsanqa Jiyane, who was the Chief Procurement Officer in the Transport Freight Rail division within Transnet."
The case emanates from the period in which Transnet engaged in the process of acquiring locomotives to expand and modernise the country's rail infrastructure, during which tender processes were flouted, and three contracts irregularly awarded to provide Transnet with 95, 100 and 1 064 locomotives in three different contracts, resulting in a loss of billions of rands for Transnet.
The state is alleging that during the period in which Gigaba was public enterprises minister, he, on various occasions, allegedly accepted and received undisclosed amounts of cash from members of the Gupta family which were corrupt in nature, and to which he was not entitled.
"All the accused were presented with an updated charge sheet," said Mamothame.
The matter was postponed to 30 January 2026 for the disclosure of the docket, as well as provision of an indictment, and a date for the transfer of the case to the High Court.
