OUTA welcomes Transnet arrests

OUTA welcomes the arrests and appearance in court today of former Transnet executives Brian Molefe, Siyabonga Gama, Anoj Singh and Thamsanqa Jiyane.

This is understood to be part of the investigations into state capture and, more specifically, allegations of corruption at Transnet from 2012, and were carried out by the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA’s) Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC). This is the second case linked to the group: Molefe, Gama and Singh are currently out on bail in connection with that matter.

The State Capture Commission final report recommended investigating charges of corruption and racketeering against the four in connection with cash payments allegedly received by them during visits to the Guptas’ Saxonwold compound in 2010-2018, and in connection with Transnet’s acquisition of packages of locomotives.

“OUTA welcomes the arrests. For a number of years, there have been several allegations pertaining to the 1064 locomotive tenders and contracts. The issue of the increased amount from R38 billion to R54 billion, shortly before Molefe left Transnet and went to Eskom, attracted a lot of questions, for which civil society and the media did not receive satisfactory answers,” says OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage.

Duvenage says that, while these matters have been reported on for years and ventilated during the State Capture Commission, to date no-one has been found guilty in connection with them. “We need to see accountability for state capture and other serious crime matters, if indeed there is to be any improvement in public trust in government,” says Duvenage.

“There are still a lot of matters outstanding, and the fact that it takes many years for these cases to be finalised in court is of concern. The trajectory, however, appears to be moving in the right direction.”

OUTA Senior Project Manager Rudie Heyneke, who has investigated the Transnet matters for OUTA and whose reports were previously shared with state investigators as far back as 2019, also welcomed the arrests.

“These arrests are proof that the investigations on state capture matters by IDAC haven’t stopped and that there are definitely still active investigations ongoing. We were assured by Advocate Andrea Johnson a while ago that IDAC is busy with several investigations, which included cases referred to them by OUTA,” says Heyneke.

“It is important that these investigations remain active and are conducted in a manner that will assist the NPA in prosecuting state capture cases successfully.

“We believe that there is definitely progress in corruption cases,” says Heyneke, pointing to today’s arrests and recent cases.

Recently we learned that the NPA was successful in its appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal in the Nulane matter (see here).

On 28 June, three individuals linked to corruption at Alexkor in a matter investigated by the Zondo Commission were arrested (see here).

On 26 June 2025, the head of SAPS Crime Intelligence, Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo, and six other senior officers were arrested and subsequently appeared in court on charges of fraud and corruption, in connection with the appointment of an unqualified civilian to a senior post in the SAPS (see here).

On 22 and 23 June, 12 suspects were arrested by the Hawks in connection with the August 2023 murder of Hawks investigator Lieutenant-Colonel Frans Mathipa, apparently relating to the snatching and disappearance of two suspects linked to financing ISIS (see here and here).

On 21 June, two alleged hitmen were arrested in connection with the murder of Mboneli Vesele, the bodyguard for University of Fort Hare vice-chancellor Prof Sakhele Buhlungu (here).

On 25 June 2025, a former police sergeant was jailed for eight years for corruption, after being convicted of demanding a bribe (see here). While this may seem like a small matter compared to the many massive – and still awaited – state capture cases, this is a welcome win against those routine demands for bribes by state officials.

“These are all signs that there is definite progress in the fight against corruption from law enforcement and the prosecuting authorities,” says Heyneke.

However, there are some concerning signs of powerful people fighting back: bizarrely – and unacceptably – the Department of Defence is reportedly bankrolling the legal fees for the SANDF group accused of murdering Hawks investigator Mathipa. This group seems to be a state-sponsored abduction and murder squad (see here), and it is unacceptable that the state is paying for the defence of people accused of murdering a police officer.

The implicated parliamentarians

Two of the Transnet accused – Molefe and Gama – are MPs for the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), headed by the disgraced Jacob Zuma. Molefe and Gama have been out on bail in connection with the initial Transnet corruption case since August 2022 (see here). The allegations are well known. They are not the only MPs – or worse, ministers – who have been linked to serious allegations of corruption and state capture. Both the initial appointments of implicated people to high public office, and their retention after further allegations, are disgraceful and a shameful blot on Parliament’s reputation.

More information