Former Office of the Chief Justice employees granted bail

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Three former employees of the Office of the Chief Justice, Nkosikhona Mncube, Casper Coetzer and Yvonne van Niekerk, were granted bail of R10 000 each following their appearance in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court east of Johannesburg yesterday.

The trio faces corruption charges in connection to the alleged irregular awarding of a substantial R225 million tender to their company, ZA Square Consulting.

The investigation into their activities was triggered by a forensic audit conducted after a R225 million tender was awarded to ZA Square by the UK Canadian-based company, Thompson Reuters, in May 2022.

The audit revealed that the accused failed to disclose their ownership of ZA Square Consulting when they expressed interest in being sub-contractors in December 2022.

Mncube, Coetzer and Van Niekerk, who were part of the tender awarding committees at the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ), allegedly failed to disclose their conflict of interest, leading to charges related to corruption and non-disclosure.

Gauteng Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale shed light on the investigation, stating, “The Hawks conducted a search and seizure operation in August 2022 at the premises of the three individuals where electronic devices were confiscated for investigation.”

During their court appearance, the accused were granted bail of R10,000 each. The court has postponed their case to February 7, 2024, to allow for the disclosure of additional information related to the charges.

Officials from the Chief Justice Office allegedly involved in an R225M tender graft:

#sapsHAWKS Three former Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) employees were this morning arrested by the #Hawks and subsequently appeared before the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court for R225 MIL tender corruption. #FightingCorruption MEhttps://t.co/DKS4CxM3zd pic.twitter.com/MRDtP6vOQA

— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) November 29, 2023

NDABANEWS: Three former senior managers, including the former spokesperson in the Office of the Chief Justice, were each released on R10 000 bail for their alleged involvement in awarding a R225-million IT tender. pic.twitter.com/jPRHlpsUEQ

— Thulani Ndaba (@tndaba) November 29, 2023