Government rejects Gigaba’s legal funding request in Transnet corruption case

Malusi Gigaba appears at Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crime Court on 30 January 2026. Picture: Gallo Images/OJ Koloti Former public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba has hit a legal roadblock after the government refused to cover his defence costs in a high-profile corruption trial involving Transnet. Gigaba made his first appearance in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Thursday, 19 February 2026, following the transfer of the case from the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court last month.

He appeared alongside former Transnet chief financial officer (CFO) Anoj Singh, former chief executives Brian Molefe and Siyabonga Gama, as well as former Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) chief procurement officer Thamsanqa Jiyane, who are out onR50 000 bail. The charges relate to Transnet’s locomotive programme, which was intended to modernise South Africa’s rail network. Authorities allege that proper procurement processes were bypassed in awarding three locomotive contracts, costing Transnet billions.

CSR, a Chinese firm, was appointed for 95 locomotives, with the contract increasing from R3.2 billion to over R3.4 billion. Two further contracts with CNR – for 100 and 1 064 locomotives – were also allegedly inflated, rising from R3.8 billion to R4.8 billion and R38.1 billion to R54 billion, respectively. According to prosecutors, Gigaba allegedly received cash payments on multiple occasions from members of the Gupta family between November 2010 and May 2014, while serving as public enterprises minister.

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A central point of contention during Thursday’s court proceedings was the disclosure of evidence. State prosecutor Santhos Manilall explained that the prosecution had shared the case docket with all the accused except Gigaba, as it awaited a five-terabyte (TB) hard drive from the ANC politician. This comes after the indictment having been officially served on the defence at their prior appearance.

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