Former Transnet execs arrested amid corruption investigation

Two former top executives at Transnet, South Africa’s state-owned freight rail and ports operator, applied for bail at a court hearing in Johannesburg.

Ex-Chief Executive Officer Brian Molefe and ex-Chief Financial Officer Anoj Singh’s appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialized Crimes Court after being arrested on Monday by a special police investigative unit known as the Hawks.

This follows after South Africa’s state prosecutor said that it arrested several former executives of state-owned rail and freight company Transnet earlier today.

A judicial commission headed by South Africa’s Chief Justice Raymond Zondo implicated the two men in racketeering, fraud and mismanagement at Transnet. It recommended that prosecutors investigate them and charge them.

Zondo released a report in February that identified R41.2 billion of irregular contracts at Transnet, a company that is one of several that fell prey to what’s become known as state capture during former President Jacob Zuma’s almost nine-year tenure.

Gama, who was fired as CEO in 2018, is scheduled to appear in court on Monday after appearing on charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering in May, along with Garry Pita, the company’s former acting chief financial officer, and three other men.