GAUTENG. – Michael Harry Lomas (77) will appear in court again on December 3 on charges of corruption. The case has been transferred from the Palm Ridge Regional Court to the Johannesburg High Court.
Henry Mamothame from the NPA said that another 11 co-accused will appear in court alongside Lomas. This includes senior managers from Eskom and directors of Tubular Construction Projects. They face 65 charges of corruption involving R1.4 bn. intended for upgrading Eskom’s Kusile Power Station in Mpumalanga between 2014 and 2017.
Lomas has not submitted a formal bail application and will remain in custody.
Nuusflits reported that Lomas was extradited from the UK and appeared on 65 charges of Eskom-related corruption involving R1.4 bn. in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court.
Henry Mamothame, spokesperson for the NPA, said that the Hawks (DPCI) and prosecutors from the Investigating Directorate against Corruption (IDAC), based in the NPA, collaborated to investigate alleged corruption at Kusile Power Station. Eleven other accused face the same charges as Lomas. Among these suspects are former executive officers of Eskom and directors of Tubular Construction Projects. The Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) has been granted a restraint order of about R1.4 bn. against their assets.
Lomas will appear again on September 27 for a formal bail application in the Palm Ridge Specialized Commercial Crimes Court. The corruption involves money intended for the upgrade of the Kusile Power Station in Mpumalanga, between 2014 and 2017.
“The case of the 11 accused is currently in the Johannesburg High Court. Lomas will be charged in the lower court before his case is merged with the one in the Johannesburg High Court, where the IDAC will pursue the matter.”
The IDAC successfully brought an extradition request to the UK, leading to Lomas’s arrest on April 15, 2021, and his release on bail on May 20, 2021. The state’s extradition request was opposed, but on January 30, 2023, the extradition agreement order was signed by the minister of state security in the UK. Lomas filed an unsuccessful appeal and attempted to appeal four more times, all dismissed by the court.
“In an attempt to avoid extradition to South Africa, he applied to the European Court of Human Rights, which was also unsuccessful.”
[ON AIR] Fugitive Michael Lomas has landed at the OR Tambo International Airport. Tune in to #eNCA #DStv403 #QuestionThinkAct pic.twitter.com/Wu6lsth75i
— eNCA (@eNCA) September 20, 2024