After leaving SA in 2019, Michael Lomas finally added to R1.4bn Eskom corruption indictment

On Tuesday, 3 December, Michael Lomas appeared in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg with his co-accused for the first time since skipping the country in 2019.

His name was added to the indictment with 11 co-accused, including former senior Eskom executives and Tubular Construction Projects directors. They face 65 counts of corruption linked to the R1.4-billion deal to upgrade the Kusile Power Station in Mpumalanga.

His co-accused are Abram Masango, a former executive in Eskom’s group capital division; France Hlakudi, a former senior manager in the division; Antonio José Trindade, the owner of Tubular Construction Projects; and Hudson Kgomoeswana, the owner of Babinatlou Business Services.

Seven companies are also charged in the case, which has been postponed multiple times since first coming to court in December 2019.

All the co-accused are out on bail, with the exception of Lomas, who has not requested bail since his extradition from the UK. During his previous hearing in November, Lomas’ legal representative, advocate Mannie Witz, said that they were seeking a retirement or fragile care home where the 77-year-old Lomas could live if he applied for and received bail.

Read more: Eskom corruption accused Michael Lomas seeks a retirement home before applying for bail

On Tuesday, Witz told Daily Maverick: “My client will apply for bail on Tuesday, December 17. All questions about where he will remain once released have been resolved. My client continues to struggle with his health. My client was released on bail in the UK following his arrest in 2021.”

Lomas was extradited from the UK in September.

Trindade, Lomas’ co-accused, was noticeably absent on Tuesday. The court learnt that Trindade had been declared unfit to stand trial after he suffered a stroke in December 2023.

According to a psychiatric evaluation from Sterkfontein Psychiatric Hospital written by a panel of three psychiatrists and a psychologist, Trinidade suffered from a “major neurocognitive disorder” following the stroke.

Henry Mamothame, the spokesperson for the NPA’s Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac), indicated the State had requested time to have Trindade reassessed and to file a medical report for the court to make a ruling on whether he would stand trial based on medical findings.

Grave charges

The initial indictment in the case is a tapestry of how a company and its leaders allegedly bribed their way to a R1.2-billion deal, paying kickbacks each step of the way. This has since ballooned to R1.4-billion.

The State will contend that Masango and Hlakudi allegedly fraudulently pushed for Tubular Construction Projects to be given a contract in 2016 to build air-cooled condensers at Kusile. At that time, Masango and Hlakudi had oversight of contracts in the Kusile build.

The State contends that Trindade and Lomas, who were respectively Tubular Construction Projects’ executive adviser and chairperson, allegedly paid Masango and Hlakudi through various channels, including Kgomoeswana’s Babinatlou Business Services.

One of these payments occurred on 19 October 2016, when Trindade’s company Abeyla Trading allegedly deposited more than R1-million into the account of Hlakudi’s translation business, one of many deposits from various characters involved in the Tubular contract.

The next day, Hlakudi allegedly made a cash withdrawal of R2.5-million from his company’s account. According to the indictment, Lomas paid more than R1.9-million into Hlakudi’s business accounts.

Lomas’s struggle to evade court

South African authorities have been working hard to bring Lomas back after he fled the country in 2019:

• He was eventually arrested on 15 April 2021 in Emsworth, London, and granted bail of £100,000. He submitted an additional surety of £250,000.


• The Special Investigating Unit welcomed his arrest.


• On 15 December 2022, the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London granted South Africa the right to extradite Lomas.


• Six months after this ruling, Lomas was still in the UK pending a decision by the Secretary of State to whom the extradition judgment was referred.


• In August 2024, London Judge Charles Bourne dismissed his appeal and said that he had to be extradited to South Africa.


• On Friday, 20 September 2024 Lomas was finally extradited to South Africa and briefly appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court.


• His second court appearance was seven days later, on 27 September. His legal team indicated they want to review files relating to the docket and receive proper instructions from their client. Lomas did not apply for bail.


• Last month, Lomas’ legal representative advocate Witz informed the court that they were looking for a retirement or frail care home that his client could go to if and when he was granted bail.

Hlakudi’s additional tax fraud charges

The R30-million tax fraud trial of Hlakudi, which began in November 2024 at the Pretoria Regional Court, has been postponed until 21 January 2025.

According to Mamothame, from Idac, the tax fraud charges against Hlakudi amount to about R30-million. This is for funds received by the companies in the period between 2015 and 2018.

“The charges detail how several contractors and/or subcontractors to Eskom paid over money to Hlakudi’s companies. At the time these transactions were made, he was senior manager – Capitol Contracts at Eskom, until his resignation on 13 November 2017,” Mamothame said.

Separation of trials 

Mamothame confirmed Trindade’s medical condition, explaining that the Sterkfontein Hospital declared Trindade unfit to stand trial after he had received a medical assessment.

Following this, Idac has asked the court for time to have Trindade reassessed. A full medical report will then be handed to the court at which juncture the court will decide whether to prosecute Trindade.

Mamothame said Trindade’s medical condition was not a setback as a pretrial date had been set, indicating progress.

Given his medical condition, Trindade’s case was then separated from his co-accused. He will return to court on 8 May 2025 for a further medical re-evaluation.

Meanwhile, the case against Frans Hlakudi and his co-accused, including Lomas, has been postponed to 5 March 2025 for pretrial. DM