By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Former State owned power utility Eskom contractor Michael Lomas has been handed a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to pocketing R745 million and channeling over R2.6 million in bribes.
He appeared before the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Thursday, 06 August 2026.
Lomas was convicted on 34 charges of corruption relating to payments made between February 2015 and April 2017, amounting to over R2.6 million from his personal account into a company owned by another co-accused in the matter.
The charges also relate to 24 rental payments for an apartment in Midrand, totaling over R396,000, which benefited two former senior Eskom employees.
Lomas was arrested by British police in 2021 at the request of South African authorities.
He was granted bail of £100 000 (about R1.7 million) and was asked to submit an additional surety of £250 000 (about R4.3 million).
At the time, ID head Andrea Johnson said there had been months of talks with UK authorities about the fraud and corruption case.
According to the ID, Eskom paid R745 million to Tubular Construction Projects, exposing the state-owned entity to R1.4 billion in costs as per the escalation of the contract.
The request made by South African authorities was for Lomas to stand trial with his co-accused former Eskom managers, Frans Hlakudi and Abram Masango, businessman Maphoko Kgomoeswana, and Tubular Construction CEO Antonio Trindade.
Hlakudi, Masango, Kgomoeswana and Trindade are facing charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering, and offering and receiving unauthorised gratifications.
Lomas pleaded guilty after entering into a plea and sentence agreement with the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC).
The court ratified the plea and sentence agreement.
It took into account that Lomas had already served 10 months behind bars after his extradition from the UK, when he was held in custody until he was granted bail.
His ill-health also weighed with the court.
Prosecutors told the court he was living in round-the-clock care and that correctional services simply had nowhere to house a prisoner with his medical needs.
IDAC spokesperson Henry Mamothame, Lomas was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment, which will be suspended for a period of 5 years.
A condition of the suspended sentence is for Lomas not to be convicted of fraud, theft or the contravention of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (PRECCA) in that period.
Additionally, as part of the plea agreement, Mamothame said Lomas must provide the State with evidence against some of the accused in the main case.
In imposing the sentence, Mamothame said the court needed to consider his age, health, his remorse for participating in criminal acts, aggravating circumstances of the case, the mitigating circumstances of the case, as well as the interests of the complainant, Eskom Holdings.
Kgomoeswana also pleaded guilty to one count of corruption, 18 counts of money laundering, and 15 counts of contravening the Tax Act.
The charges relate to the payments of over R6 million paid to a former Eskom senior employee as gratification from Tubular Group of companies, through Babinatlou Business Services, owned by Kgomoeswana.
He was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment, with 10 years suspended, and an effective 5 years’ direct imprisonment after his tax sentence was ordered to run concurrently. He also agreed to the confiscation of assets worth more than R2.4 million and will testify for the State.
Mamothame said asset recovery remains an important part of the case.
“We are not only pursuing convictions but also ensuring that proceeds derived from corruption are recovered wherever possible. That remains a critical component of the justice process,” he said.
Meanwhile, the case against the remaining accused, Hlakudi and Masango, is expected back in court on 7 August 2026 for trial. Trindade was declared unfit to stand trial by Sterkfontein Hospital.