Matshela Koko's legal showdown against NPA set for 2026

The Gauteng High Court has confirmed that the legal battle between businessman Matshela Koko and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will finally be heard on 20 and 21 April 2026, ending months of procedural delays and speculation over the matter’s progress.

In a directive dated October 2, 2025, Deputy Judge President Roland Sutherland announced that the April slot was the earliest and only date available for the case’s hearing.

“Regrettably another date cannot be offered,” the directive stated, highlighting the tight judicial calendar facing the country’s busiest court division.

The case, filed under Case No. 2024-013852, pits Koko against the NPA and several other respondents in what has become a closely watched contest between private litigants and the public prosecuting authority.

The details of the dispute remain confidential, but the case has drawn attention for its potential to test the boundaries of prosecutorial accountability.

The correspondence, addressed to the legal representatives, including Mashele Attorneys, the Office of the State Attorney, Pinsent Masons South Africa Inc, and Phala RM Attorneys, sets a clear roadmap for pre-hearing preparations.

Parties are required to serve and upload their notice of set down on the court’s electronic system by October 20, 2025, while case bundles must be filed no later than February 2, 2026.

Heads of argument will follow a staggered timeline: intervening parties by December 5, 2025, the first respondent by January 30, 2026, and supplementary submissions by March 6, 2026.

A joint practice note, outlining which sections of the case will be argued, must be filed by March 20, 2026, together with any outstanding documents.

The court cautioned that failure to comply with these directives “may result in the matter not being accommodated on the allocated date.”

Sutherland further instructed that should the hearing be unlikely to proceed as scheduled, the court must be notified “forthwith in writing.”

The directive, issued electronically, as is now standard practice, reflects the judiciary’s ongoing shift toward digital case management through the Court Online system, designed to streamline document filing and scheduling.

While the exact nature of Koko’s legal challenge remains under wraps, the proceedings are expected to shed light on the often-contentious relationship between private entities and prosecuting authorities in South Africa’s evolving justice system.Koko, an engineer by profession, was a senior at Eskom between 2014 and 2018 and was its chief executive between 2016 and 2017.

In November 2023, the corruption case against Koko and co-accused was struck off the roll due to delays on the part of the NPA. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), a Swiss-based robotics automation company that won a R2,2 billion tender from Eskom to install a control and instrumentation (C&I) system at Kusile Power Station, couldn't verify the authenticity of an email that the NPA used as a smoking gun to charge Koko and co-accused. 

Koko's legal team claimed there were two versions of the email with one version forged. When ABB couldn't distinguish between the authentic and potentially forged emails, the case collapsed.The NPA had used the email exchanges between ABB executive Markus Bruegmann and businessman Thabo Mokwena, a businessman linked to Koko, to charge them.

However, the NPA gave ABB immunity from prosecution in the R2,2 corruption matter.

The April 2026 hearing could set a precedent for how the courts balance state power, prosecutorial independence, and the rights of individuals seeking redress through the legal system.

SUNDAY TRIBUNE