The extradition and arrest of Michael Lomas is a new eye piercing layer in the seven-year-long attempt to prove former Eskom CEO Matshela Koko's culpability in the Eskom saga.
Lomas, a former Eskom contractor, is accused of fraud that took place at the Kusile Power station between 2008 and 2018.
Lomas was arrested by UK authorities in April 2021 after the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption launched an application to extradite him to South Africa.
In a long-anticipated turn of events, yielding the extradition and arrest of Lomas, Paul O'Sullivan In his book, Stop Me If You Can, provides evidence that could acquit Koko from any wrong doing. This is because it was Koko's efforts that revealed to O'Sullivan who the architects of state capture were and possibly these exclude Koko.
O'Sullivan reveals how Koko for his reasons against former Director-General of the Department of Public Enterprises, Kgathatso Tlhakudi, triggered the investigation, arrest and the eventual successful extradition of Lomas to face the mighty arm of the law in South Africa.
Koko is a public educator on energy, Eskom and its mandate of a hundred years ago. This knowledge is apparent in every piece of information he delivers. He is very active on X on all things energy and trying to clear his name.
Engineer Matšhela Koko, MBL (@koko_matshela) posted on Fri, Apr 23, 2021, “ I remember being served with a notice of suspension because I took necessary steps to suspend the Executives at @Eskom_SA who were implicated in the corruption at Kusile with Mike Lomas. Mike Lomas is the former CEO of Group 5. I have said it before that history will absolve us.”
Engineer Matšhela Koko, MBL (@koko_matshela) posted on Fri, Sep 20, 2024, “I was accused of chasing after the whistle-blowers. I ran out of options and approached Paul O'Sullivan. The rest of it is history. He wrote about it in his book "Stop Me If You Want." The truth about what transpired at @Eskom_SA is unravelling.”
On the strength of what he has been arguing over the past seven years, Koko could have on all accounts entered a plea bargain that would have been successful as a state witness. But that is not the material that Koko is made of. Right from the onset he said he was neither a tailor, nor a person that would fit in the orange overalls. Each revelation pulls him farther and farther away from the media picture that was painted of Koko as the bastion of corruption.
For the past 72 months Koko has publicly enlightened us of the reign of terror that decimated electricity availability to the nation. His detractors have said that he possibly has insider moles informing him of all things Eskom.
Koko has not been deterred, but instead has demonstrated deep and superior knowledge of the system, which was his home for more than three decades. He did not need any informer. Up to the hour on the eve of the 2024 national election, , Koko told it as it was and assured us that Eskom’s power generation experts were not pandering to the politics of an election, but it was for real. And that they were on top of their game.
His consistent statements have reassured those of us who could have been swayed into the narrative of a political cookbook of election convenience.
Koko has not been swayed by lies of convenience in this long, winding and unending road of suspense. Instead, he has taken to the courts to demand the prosecution of himself to clear his name and have accusations against him tested in court. While it is often said that “only time will tell”, in Koko’s case so much time has passed that time has only revealed the fact that justice delayed is justice denied.
In this instance Koko has been seen knocking at judicial doors seeking to be taken through the process including fighting against bending the rules for others.
For instance, the case brought before court titled in the media "Ex-Eskom boss Koko targets R5bn Investigating Directorate, ABB settlement deal" is the case in point. This is where Koko challenges the general acknowledged blindness that lady justice has to pursue whatever the circumstances.
Koko - the then hunted for justice - has become the hunter for justice.
Dr Pali Lehohla is a Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg, a Research Associate at Oxford University, a board member of Institute for Economic Justice at Wits and a distinguished Alumni of the University of Ghana. He is the former Statistician-General of South Africa.
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