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Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Zizi Kodwa, has been arrested. The minister’s arrest comes after the report from Zondo Commission.
(The Post News)- Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Zizi Kodwa, has been arrested by the Hawks on charges of corruption.
The minister is accused of accepting bribes worth R1.7 million in exchange for favours.
According to investigators, Kodwa’s luxurious lifestyle was funded by businessman and former Enterprising Outsourcing Holdings (EOH) boss Jehan Mackey.
This includes expensive cars, homes, and overseas trips. The minister’s arrest comes after the Zondo Commission, which investigated state capture, recommended that Kodwa be prosecuted.
The minister being held accountable within seven days of the elections got a lot of political observers believing he was protected all along so that he didn’t have to lose his position as the ANC ruler but continued to be part of them while he was corrupt.
Hawks’ spokesperson Brigadier Thandi Mbambo confirmed the arrest, saying: “We can confirm that two individuals have been arrested following the Zondo commission recommendation on state capture. The two are to appear at Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes court on charges of Corruption.”
This comes from the recommendations from Chief Justice Raymond Zondo in 2021 that Kodwa be removed from the cabinet and possibly charged for alleged state capture corruption.
The allegations against Kodwa date back to his time as the African National Congress (ANC) spokesperson and member of the National Executive Committee (NEC). It is alleged that the minister influenced the awarding of contracts to EOH in return for Favors.
EOH was awarded more than R400- million in government contracts; this included a deal to upgrade the information technology network and security systems for the city of Johannesburg.
News24 recently reported that the Zondo Commission found that Kodwa was implicated in questionable transactions between himself and Jehan Mackay, a former EOH director.
Minister Kodwa never denied the payments, but he claimed that they were transactions between his friends, not bribes, he also said the money was a loan which he had not managed to pay back at the time.
Mackey is also expected to appear at the same court.
The case against Minister Kodwa is a significant victory for the Hawks and the Zondo Commission, which have worked tirelessly to root out corruption in government.
Minister Kodwa long with his co-accuses Mackey are appearing at Palm Ridge Magistrate Court on Today, June 5.
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