Former public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba
Former minister of public enterprises Malusi Gigaba has been charged with corruption over Transnet’s controversial multibillion-rand locomotive procurement deal.
Gigaba — now co-chair of parliament’s joint standing committee on defence — appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Tuesday alongside four former executives of the state-owned freight logistics company.
Gigaba has been added as the fifth accused in a long-running corruption case involving the former executives, the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) spokesperson Henry Mamothame confirmed.
Idac issued him with a summons on 7 November to appear in court, to “which he agreed to present himself, wherein his matter is combined with that of the other accused”.
Gigaba’s court appearance relates to a period between November 2010 to May 2014, during his tenure as public enterprises minister.
The other accused are Anoj Singh, the former group chief financial officer; Brian Molefe, the former group chief executive officer of Transnet; Siyabonga Gama, the former chief executive officer; and Thamsanqa Jiyane, who was the chief procurement officer in the transport freight rail division within Transnet.
“The accused’s court appearance emanates from the period in which Transnet engaged in the process of acquiring locomotives to expand and modernise the country’s rail infrastructure, during which the tender processes were flouted, and three contracts were irregularly awarded to provide Transnet with 95, 100 and 1 064 locomotives in three different contracts, resulting in a loss of billions of rands for Transnet,” Mamothame said.
The state alleges that on various occasions Gigaba “allegedly accepted and received undisclosed amounts of cash from members of the Gupta family, which are corrupt in nature, and which he was not entitled to”.
In the notice of the court appearance, Gigaba’s legal representative Ian Levitt said that “at this stage, we have not yet received the docket, disclosure material or any particulars outlining the factual or legal basis of the allegation”.
“Our client maintains his innocence and will address the allegations through the court process, in accordance with the rule of law. Today’s appearance was procedural, and no substantive proceedings took place,” he said.
The Zondo Commission into state capture accused Gigaba of facilitating corrupt Gupta-linked business dealings with the government and of being part of the broader state capture network.
The Gupta family allegedly captured Transnet by taking control of its board and senior management, weakening oversight and siphoning off billions through companies they and their associates owned.
Former president Jacob Zuma, Gigaba and former public enterprises minister Lynne Brown — along with senior ANC leaders, including then secretary-general Gwede Mantashe — were all implicated in backing the appointment of Gupta-aligned figures to the Transnet board and top leadership.
Under Molefe and Singh, Transnet’s R300-billion locomotive procurement fund was plundered, with the family allegedly collecting kickbacks from service providers through a web of linked companies.
The Zondo Commission’s second report again highlighted the role of Zuma, Gigaba and other ANC figures, including Jeff Radebe and Siphiwe Nyanda, played in enabling those appointments.
Its chairperson, former chief justice Raymond Zondo, described the Guptas’ capture of Transnet between 2010 and 2017 as a “systematic scheme” designed to secure corrupt control of decision-making, staff appointments and governance structures, giving actors in strategic posts the ability to steer major procurement toward Gupta-linked companies.
On Tuesday, Mamothame said all five accused received an updated charge sheet.
The matter was postponed to 30 January 2026 for the disclosure of the docket, provision of the indictment, and the setting of a date for transfer to the high court.