A former senior Eskom technician was arrested by the Hawks for alleged fraud, corruption and money laundering.

• The Hawks in Mpumalanga arrested a former senior Eskom technician for fraud and corruption.
• The arrest emanated from a Special Investigating Unit probe, which uncovered that Nkhetheni Percy Ramaru had failed to declare that his company conducted business with the utility.
• Ramaru appeared in the Middleburg Specialised Crime Court and was released on R10 000 bail.

The Hawks in Mpumalanga arrested a former senior Eskom technician for alleged fraud, corruption and money laundering.

Hawks spokesperson Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said Nkhetheni Percy Ramaru failed to declare a conflict of interest involving his company, MXO Logistics CC, which was conducting business with Eskom.

“It is alleged that, during August 2022, the accused was employed by Eskom as a senior field service technician. The accused misrepresented to Eskom that he was not conducting business with the entity.

“During investigations, the SIU [Special Investigating Unit] discovered that the accused failed to declare a conflict of interest to Eskom [and] that he was a shareholder at a company called MXO Logistics CC, [a] company conducting business with Eskom,” the Hawks said.

The duplicity was discovered on declaration forms and tender documents submitted by MXO Logistics CC to Eskom.

“As a result, Eskom suffered an actual loss of R14 940,” Sekgotodi said.

ALSO READ | Power play: Members of R36m Eskom power theft syndicate tried to bribe cop, indictment reveals

Ramaru appeared in the Middleburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court, where he was granted R10 000 bail.

The case was postponed to 19 February. 

Ramaru’s arrest follows that of another Eskom employee, Thandi Ruth Magagula, a safety risk manager who was arrested last Friday for fraud, corruption and money laundering.

It is alleged that Magagula was employed by Eskom from April 2013 to July 2015 while she was also a director of a company called Montoza Engineering and Project 9, which rendered services to the utility.

The matter was reported to the SIU, which uncovered that Magagula failed to declare her conflict of interest to Eskom.

“The Hawks in Middelburg … established that the accused misrepresented to Eskom, on her declaration forms and tender documents, that she was conducting business with Eskom while her company was rendering services to Eskom, causing actual loss of R58 888.76,” Sekgotodi said.

The accused appeared in the Middelburg Magistrate’s Court, where she was granted R10 000 bail.

The case was postponed to 26 March in the Middelburg Specialised Commercial Crime Court.

READ | Eskom maintenance manager in court for R1 million graft

Last week, News24 reported that Eskom manager Nontuthubo Surprise Mahweliri and her alleged accomplice Mokgawa Recca Sewla had been charged with fraud, theft and money laundering for allegedly doing business with the power utility. 

The two were each granted R50 000 bail in the Hendrina Magistrate’s Court.

Their companies, Dithari Funding and NKG Trading and Investment, are also on the charge sheet. 

Sekgotodi said an investigation had uncovered that Mahweliri was a shareholder in NKG and Dithari, and both companies were conducting business with Eskom, dealings that cost the company a loss of more than R1 million.

The accused will be back in court on Friday.