Minister of Sports resigns, granted R30k bail
Politician and businessman Zizi Kodwa recently appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on allegations of corruption alongside his co-accused.
Politician Zizi Kodwa recently resigned as the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture amid corruption charges.
On June 5, Kodwa appeared in Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court alongside Jehan Mackay, a businessman and the director of Tactical Software Systems (TSS) and former senior executive of Enterprise Outsourcing Holdings (EOH).
They face charges of Contravention of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (Precca) and corruption.
They were released on R30 000 bail and will return to court on July 23 because the court postponed the case for the disclosure of the contents of the accused’s docket by the State.
“The State alleges that during the period from April 2015 to February 2016, when Kodwa was employed as the national spokesperson of the ANC, he received direct payments and luxury accommodation worth over R1.6m paid by and or facilitated by Mackay as gratifications for his interventions in government procurement processes to advance the interests of Mackay, TSS and EOH,” stated the NPA regional spokesperson of the Gauteng division, Phindi Mjonondwane.
In February 2015, the State Information Technology Agency (Sita), a State-owned company, was charged with the responsibility of IT services to the government.
It advertised a tender worth R360m to appoint two separate service providers to provide platinum access service solutions for the government for five years because Sita could not render the service.
“Nine companies, including EOH, were shortlisted for the tender and communication between the two accused suggests EOH was disqualified and that Mackay then approached Kodwa for his intervention, which allegedly resulted in the tender’s cancellation,” Mjonondwane said.
Detailed account
According to Mjonondwane, the case stems from the recommendations penned by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo in part four of his reports into allegations of State capture.
Part four of the report specifically dealt with corruption and fraud in the public sector, including State organs.
“Zondo presided over the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State capture and, upon conclusion of its work, recommended that law enforcement agencies should investigate attempts by Mackay to induce Kodwa to interfere with procurement processes and that President Cyril Ramaphosa should consider Kodwa’s position as Deputy Minister of State Security because of his tainted relationship with Mackay,” she said.
The case is part of the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) response to the findings and recommendations of the State capture inquiry.
In trying to meet the demands in the commission’s reports, the NPA established a joint task force in November 2022.
It comprised various law enforcement agencies like the Special Investigating Unit, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation and the Financial Intelligence Centre to ensure collaboration and a co-ordinated case-driven structure.
“We continue to guide and monitor investigations in cases emanating from the commission’s reports to ensure that the alleged perpetrators of State capture face justice. This case builds on the dozens of enrolments of high-profile State capture corruption matters and the convictions of hundreds of government officials for corruption over the past five years,” she explained.
