NPA: R2.2bn Kusile corruption case being chucked out ‘is not an acquittal’

The National Prosecuting Authority has responded to the R2.2bn Kusile corruption case being chucked out of court, by declaring it will re-enroll the matter once its investigations have been strengthened.

The Middelburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Mpumalanga on Thursday struck the matter, involving former acting Eskom CEO Matshela Koko and others, off the roll because of lengthy and “unreasonable”delays.

At the centre of the case, is an alleged dodgy contract awarded by Eskom to Swiss-based engineering company Asia Brown Boveri (ABB) for the construction of Eskom’s Kusile Power Plant.

ALSO READ: Kusile corruption case struck off the roll; Koko calls trial a ‘hate crime’

The NPA’s was criticised in the aftermath of the judgement, with many questioning if it “had the teeth and will” to prosecute prominent people accused of corruption.

Not an acquittal

ID spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka said the directorate was confident of bringing the matter back to court “as soon as outstanding aspects of the investigation are completed”.

“It should be noted that the court‘s decision is not tantamount to an acquittal or withdrawal of the charges. The ID will continue investigating the case in line with the original case strategy that it developed for this complex matter”.

It said the delays in investigations were not anticipated at the time of the arrest but had come about because of how complex it was, and the extent and volume of evidence seized.

ALSO READ: Overseas witnesses and 80m pieces of reading material: Former Eskom CEO Koko wants fraud case struck

“Work on the compilation of the outstanding reports is ongoing. The ID will re-apply for the matter to be re-enrolled within a reasonable period, and as soon as the outstanding aspects of the investigation have been completed”.

Just how big is the investigation?

In September, the court heard accused and witnesses in the UK, Germany and the US would have to be extradited in a process that could take up to three years.

The state was reported to have more than 80 million individual pieces of reading material, equalling more than 14 terabytes of data, related to the case.