Transnet operates all South Africa's rail, ports and pipelines
Transnet operates all South Africa's rail, ports and pipelines AFP

Four former executives at South Africa's failing transport company were arrested and charged Monday over allegations of corruption worth millions of dollars in a high-profile case linked to the plunder of state resources.

The ports and freight rail company Transnet was among the state-owned firms caught in a widespread graft scandal that rocked ex-president Jacob Zuma's government between 2010 and 2018.

The web of corruption that hollowed out the companies is commonly referred to as "state capture" in South Africa.

The accused who appeared in court Monday are former group chief executives Brian Molefe and Siyabonga Gana, as well as former heads of finance and procurement.

"They are facing 18 charges that include the contravention of the Public Finance Management Act, fraud, corruption and the contravention of the Companies Act," the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said.

Their case relates to tenders issued during a plan to expand and modernise the country's rail infrastructure, the logistical backbone of the continent's most advanced economy.

In one instance, the officials are accused of bypassing due process and awarding a tender to an unqualified Chinese firm for the supply of 95 trains, with the contract allegedly inflated by $13 million, NPA said.

Molefe and Gama are currently serving as members of parliament under Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.

None of the accused has entered a plea. They were each granted a $2,800 bail, with the matter due back in court in October.

"The arrest of the accused highlights how persons in positions of trust and power allowed themselves to be part of a corrupt relationship that sought self-enrichment as opposed to the enrichment of the country and its infrastructure," NPA said.

Transnet, which owns all South Africa's rail, ports and pipelines, is hobbled by a mountain of debt, theft and maintenance issues.

A report into state graft under Zuma published in 2022 described Transnet as a "primary site" of state corruption.

The investigation led by former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo found contracts worth billions of f rand had been "irregularly awarded for the benefit of entities linked to the Gupta family," a business family of Indian migrants with close ties to Zuma.

The four-year graft probe concluded that Transnet became a cash cow for the Guptas who moved to South Africa in 1993.

Molefe and Gama denied wrongdoing when they testified before the commission.

They are facing a separate graft case linked to the procurement of more than 1,000 trains.