Nwabisa Ngxola (40), a former Administration Clerk at Eskom, was found guilty and sentenced by the Mbombela Specialized Commercial Crime Court on Wednesday, 3 May 2023. She was arrested for Fraud, Corruption and Money Laundering.
Nwabisa Ngxola was sentenced to ten (10) years imprisonment for sixteen (16) counts of fraud.
A further seven years imprisonment for thirty-nine (39) counts of corruption and another additional seven years imprisonment for forty-eight (48) counts of money laundering were imposed on the accused.
The court ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, therefore Ngxola will serve 10 years direct imprisonment without option of fine.
The conviction and sentence followed a lengthy investigation conducted by the Nelspruit Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation, in collaboration with Eskom Forensic Investigators.
It is alleged that during November 2013 the accused who was working as an administration Clerk at Eskom together with her co-accused Cinderella Moropane, colluded with Chimanzi, the sole Director of Chimanzi Investments and submitted fraudulent invoices to Eskom for services which were never rendered.
These fraudulent transactions were channelled to Chimanzi Investment business accounts, which prejudiced Eskom to the amount of R2.6 million.
Micheal Chimanzi (56) was found guilty and sentenced when he appeared in the Nelspruit Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Wednesday, 1 March 2023 for Fraud, Theft and Money Laundering.
During the sentencing, the court took into consideration that Chimanzi already served four years imprisonment since his arrest in 2018.
Furthermore, the accused showed remorse and pleaded guilty from the beginning without wasting state resources.
Chimanzi, together with his company, were sentenced to eight (8) years imprisonment wholly suspended for 5 years on condition that he is not found guilty and convicted for similar offenses during the period of suspension.
The case against the third accused Cinderella Moropane was postponed to 17 May 2023 as she was hospitalised due to illness.
The Provincial Head of the Hawks, Major General Gerber commended the good work done by the Hawks investigation team in collaboration with Eskom Forensic Investigators. He further applauded the Court for ensuring that the accused received an appropriate sentence which will serve as an example to those who are still prejudicing Eskom and causing the country to be in state of prolonged power cuts which has a negative impact on the economy.
