Corruption case against Former Minister of Public Enterprises and co-accused heads to the High Court

Former Minister of Public Enterprises, Finance, and Home Affairs, as well as current co-chair of Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Defence, Dr Malusi Gigaba, and his co-accused in the Transnet corruption scandal, will stand trial on 12 February.

The accused, which consists of Gigaba and former Transnet executives Brian Molefe, Siyabonga Gama, Anoj Singh and engineer Thamsanqa Jiyane, appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on 30 January. 

This is after Gigaba was charged on one count of corruption, a schedule one offence, and the others were charged with fraud and corruption on 18 November 2025, and the case was postponed.

The matter was deferred without the provision of an indictment or official transfer of the case to the high court, which obliges the accused to stand trial on a particular date.

Today, it was announced that all the accused have received and signed the indictment, and that the trial will begin on 12 February at the Johannesburg High Court, although the defence argued that this is not the requisite 10 days, and is only 9 days, counting today. The date must, therefore, still be confirmed.

The matter was also postponed due to a matter of disclosure. All accused were instructed on 18 November to hand in a 5 Terabyte hard drive to receive additional evidence from the state in preparation. 

According to the prosecution, accused one and four, Singh and Jiyane, have given their hard drives to the state as required and will receive the additional evidence.

However, Molefe and Gama allegedly did not return the hard drives for the additional information, and Gigaba failed to provide a hard drive, leaving their defence thus far unprepared. 

Gigaba appeared in court on a J175 summons on warning, while his co-accused are currently on bail. 

All five of the accused face charges linked to a 1,064-locomotive tender, a deal that is alleged to have cost R54 billion in taxpayer money. 

The case centres on Transnet’s acquisition of locomotives between 2011 and 2014.

The State alleges that procurement processes were irregular and that costs were inflated to benefit preferred bidders, including firms linked to the controversial Gupta family, who reportedly received billions in kickbacks.

Gigaba is accused of accepting undisclosed amounts of cash from members of the Gupta family, which were corrupt in nature, on multiple occasions during the period that he was the Minister of Public Enterprises. 

The R54 billion Transnet scandal

The Zondo Commission previously found that Gigaba played a key role in the appointment of Molefe as Transnet CEO, despite him not being the highest-scoring candidate.

He is also accused of playing a role in reinstating Siyabonga Gama as Transnet CEO, Involvement in procurement irregularities, and perceived favouritism toward Gupta-linked interests. 

Both Gigaba and Molefe were known to have close ties to the Gupta family and were frequent visitors to their Saxonwold residence.

Gigaba maintains his denial of any wrongdoing.

Rising through the ranks of the ANC Youth League, Gigaba entered the national political stage at a young age, eventually serving in several high-profile cabinet positions under Presidents Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa.

His ministerial career includes appointments as Minister of Public Enterprises, Home Affairs, and Finance.

As Minister of Public Enterprises, he oversaw state-owned enterprises including Transnet, and his tenure is most frequently scrutinised for alleged involvement in state capture.

Gigaba’s term as Minister of Finance was brief and turbulent. Appointed in 2017, he faced market instability and criticism for policy decisions perceived as politically motivated.

He returned to the National Assembly in the May 2024 general election after a period away from frontline politics and currently co-chairs the Joint Standing Committee on Defence.