Simon Nare
More than six-and-a-half years after they first appeared in court, former Eskom managers and their co-accused are scheduled to go on trial on Monday over alleged corruption linked to work at the Kusile Power Station.
The trial of four individuals and seven companies is expected to run in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg from 20 July until 18 September 2026.
The individuals accused are former Eskom officials France Hlakudi and Abram Masango, businessman Maphoko Hudson Kgomoeswana, and former Tubular Construction executive Michael Harry Lomas.
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They face charges including fraud, corruption, and money laundering arising from an initially R745 million contract for work on two air-cooled condenser units at the Mpumalanga power station.
The State alleges that irregularities and additional costs linked to the contract eventually exposed Eskom to losses or expenditure of about R1.4 billion.
Lomas was extradited from the United Kingdom in September 2024 to face the charges. He was granted R2 million bail by the Johannesburg High Court in March 2025.
All four individual accused are out on bail.
The State alleges that Hlakudi and Masango each received about R30 million in bribes in connection with the awarding of the contract to Tubular Construction.
Kgomoeswana and his company, Babinatlou Business Services CC, are accused of helping to facilitate payments on behalf of contractors.
