Suspended Eskom executive Matshela Koko is facing four new charges, according to his suspension letter and internal Eskom charge sheet – including misleading Parliament.
"I walk with my chin up... I am a victim"– Koko Matshela
According to Fin24, who obtained the suspension letter, it alleges that he "committed serious acts of misconduct" and "gross negligence" – breaching the Eskom code of conduct by attempting to mislead Parliament when he appeared before a parliamentary committee investigating state capture in January.
"In this regard, you sought to give the false impression that you were at best peripherally involved in these matters and had in fact 'opposed' making payments to Trillian," said Eskom's interim group CEO Phakamani Hadebe, who wrote the suspension letter.
"In fact, you sought and carried a direct mandate from the board and board tender committee in relation to the McKinsey contracts; you were a central figure in the negotiation of the relevant contract."
The other three charges are:
- That Koko breached his fiduciary and statutory duties and responsibilities as acting group chief executive of Eskom in relation to the R600-million payment to Gupta-linked company Trillian;
- That he failed to declare a conflict of interest – that he was receiving benefits from a third party;
- That he distributed confidential Eskom documents in November 2015 to people associated with the Gupta family, using his personal email account in an attempt to evade detection.
Koko told Fin24 on Wednesday evening that he has "a clean conscience".
"I walk with my chin up... I am a victim," he said.