Former public enterprises minister Dr Malusi Gigaba and his co-accused in the Transnet locomotive tender corruption case will return to the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crime Court on July 10, 2026, when a pre-trial date is expected to be set.

Gigaba appeared in court on Friday alongside former Transnet group chief executive Brian Molefe, former group chief financial officer Anoj Singh, former Transnet Freight Rail chief executive Siyabonga Gama and former Transnet Freight Rail chief procurement officer Thamsanqa Jiyane.

The matter was postponed after the State confirmed it had received the docket containing extensive digital and physical evidence, which prosecutors are reviewing in preparation for trial.

Gigaba was formally charged in November 2025 under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (PRECCA), with the offence classified as a Schedule 1 crime.

His name emerged during investigations into decisions taken while he served as public enterprises minister between 2010 and 2014, a period scrutinised by the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture.

The State alleges Gigaba played a role in facilitating corruption linked to Transnet’s R54 billion procurement of 1,064 locomotives.

He is also accused of benefiting from kickbacks allegedly paid by the Gupta family.

Molefe, Singh, Gama and Jiyane face 18 charges, including fraud, corruption, contravention of the Public Finance Management Act and breaches of the Companies Act.

According to the charge sheet, the matter relates to Transnet’s 2011 Market Demand Strategy aimed at expanding rail, port and pipeline infrastructure to shift freight transport from road to rail.

The State alleges the accused manipulated procurement processes during the acquisition of locomotives by irregularly appointing a Chinese company that did not qualify to supply 95 locomotives.

Prosecutors further allege procurement procedures were ignored and that a contract initially valued at about R3.2 billion was unlawfully inflated by more than R231 million, pushing the total value above R3.4 billion.

INSIDE POLITICS

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