South Africa is known for its ongoing battle with corruption, and this year progress seems to have been made on rooting out this scourge.

Some of the main players in state capture were nabbed, including the former head of Eskom, Matshela Koko, his wife Mosima and his stepdaughter Koketso Choma on multiple counts of corruption, fraud and money laundering

It relates to a multibillion-rand contract Eskom entered into with a Swiss engineering company, with roughly R30 million allegedly flowing to Koko’s family via a sub-contracted deal. The Zondo commission found that Koko was “an integral component of the Gupta family’s strategy to capture Eskom”.

Another state owned company, Transnet, was also paralysed by years of corruption. Former CEO Brian Molefe and Chief Financial Officer Anoj Singh will finally face the music, described as the “primary architects” of state capture at the company.

They face charges of fraud and breach of public finance regulations, linked to a R93 million bribery and fraud case surrounding the 2015 purchase of more than 1,000 locomotives.

Former mineral resources deputy director-general Joel Raphela and two Gupta associates were also arrested this year for allegedly looting R107m from the rehabilitation funds of the Optimum and Koornfontein coal mines in Mpumalanga. The arrest came almost 6 years after the crime.

Another high profile case is the R280 millon Estina Dairy Farm project in which former mineral resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane, two Gupta associates along with others are accused of fraud, theft and money laundering. The project’s funds was meant to benefit emerging farmers, but instead it was looted by those involved.

The list of those in the NPA’s sights is long. From former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede’s dodgy R208 million Durban Solid Waste tender, to former State Security Minister Bongani Bongo’s dubious multi-million rand land deals – the NPA’s Shamila Batohi believes the tide is turning against corruption.

During the past 18 months, about 50 serious and complex corruption cases have been enrolled with the joint participation of the various crime fighting bodies, and more are expected to follow in the new year.

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