The case against Gigaba

Former minister's court appearance relates to his tenure at public enterprises

- Sheree Bega

Former minister of public enterprises Malusi Gigaba this week stepped aside from his party and parliamentary roles after being charged with corruption over Transnet's controversial multibillion-rand locomotive procurement deal.

Gigaba — who was 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.