Africa-Press – South-Africa. Transnet Freight Rail’s ex-legal head, Kenneth Diedricks, has appeared in court after being charged with accepting bribes of R300 000 in cash and a Persian carpet from two companies the state-owned entity was in business with.
With him in the dock at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng on Wednesday were Charles Pretorius and Refiloe Martins of Polyzomba Rail Contractors, the company accused of paying him the cash bribe.
The three accused were each granted R10 000 bail.
According to the state’s charge sheet, Diedricks in 2011 “unlawfully co-approved” a payment of R25 million to Polyzomba, a company that does construction and maintenance work on rail tracks.
The payment was made for “ancillary” services, after Polyzomba had already earned R64 million for a contract to replace rail panels on a railway line in KwaZulu-Natal.
In 2013, some two years after approving the payment, Pretorius and Refiloe are alleged to have paid R300 000 into the account of Diedricks’ conveyancing attorneys as a down payment for a R3.7 million home in Bassonia, Gauteng.
According to the state, the cash payment was a “gratification” for the earlier R25 million payment.
Later in 2013, Diedricks is said to have received a Persian carpet worth R20 000 from Umthombo Resources, a company that was in business with Transnet.
Slow train coming
It’s unclear why authorities took so long to bring the case to court, as allegations of corruption against Diedricks had already surfaced in July 2015.
City Press reported at the time that a year-long audit by PwC found evidence that Diedricks had received kickbacks from Polyzomba.
PwC’s probe also found that Diedricks had forwarded confidential company documents to groups competing for rail tenders. These allegations are not, however, included in the state’s case.
Diedricks refused to comment at the time and threatened to sue if the article were published.
Three years later, more evidence against him was covered in the media.
City Press reported that Diedricks’ “spurned” ex-wife Yvette Diedricks had submitted an affidavit with the Hawks, stating Diedricks had used cash bribes to pay for luxurious holidays to New York, Dubai, France and the Bahamas.
“Kenneth ensured that we take our international holiday trips during the time that TFR staff got paid their annual performance bonuses so that it didn’t raise eyebrows with his colleagues at work,” she said at the time.
The case against Diedricks, Pretorius and Martins was postponed to 7 March, 2023.
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