Former Transnet bosses Brian Molefe and Siyabonga Gama — long seen as State Capture architects — handed themselves over to the Investigating Directorate for Corruption (Idac) on Monday morning.

The two, who are now sitting MPs for Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party, are expected to appear in the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court on fraud, corruption, and money laundering charges that are directly related to the larger Transnet locomotives corruption scandal, which formed one of the core chapters of the Zondo Commission's State Capture reports. These charges are directly related to the Transnet locomotives scandal. Backstory: the locomotive deal symbolic of an era Molefe was given the job of CEO of Transnet in 2011 while Jacob Zuma was in charge. His job was to oversee a huge plan for expanding the rail network.

One of the largest procurement deals in the history of South African state-owned enterprises was awarded to JP Morgan in May 2015 for a transaction advisory contract for 1,064 new locomotives. However, due to internal disputes, the contract was quickly canceled and reassigned to Trillian Capital, a Gupta-linked company. Transnet paid Trillian R93.4 million by December 2015, with approval from then-CEO Gama and CFO Garry Pita. Three days later, R74-million was quietly rerouted — a diversion that Justice Zondo’s report flagged as a key laundering step in the wider locomotives corruption scheme. Today, the long train of justice is inching back into court. Idac spokesperson Henry Mamothame confirmed their arrests to Daily Maverick, noting that a broader press release would be issued after the two had appeared in court.

Zondo Commission: findings The Zondo Commission named Molefe as a “primary architect” of Transnet’s State Capture phase, finding he misled the board, suppressed oversight, and signed off on contracts that enabled Gupta proxies to loot through Regiments and Trillian. It also explicitly linked this R93-million payment to the bigger locomotives procurement fraud, and recommended that Molefe, Gama and others be prosecuted to break what it called the “cycle of impunity” that allowed grand corruption to thrive unchecked. Politics surrounding public funds The MK party was put in a bad light by their arrests. By the time this article was published, Daily Maverick had not received any calls or questions from MK party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela. The cost of purchasing locomotives increased from R38 billion to more than R50 billion.

These billions were paid for by the public through Transnet's balance sheet while oversight bodies ignored it. What awaits at the subsequent stop? The NPA does not object to the R50,000 bail that has been set by the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court for each of the accused. The real test now shifts to the National Prosecuting Authority, which must prove it can go beyond headlines to hold to account the powerful networks that, for years, treated Transnet and other SOEs as private cash reserves. How much willpower remains to turn the Zondo Commission's recommendations into real consequences will be demonstrated by whether this case holds or slips into interminable legal limbo.