Gauteng — Three former Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) employees were this morning arrested and subsequently appeared before the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court on corruption charges.

It is reported that the trio in June 2022, Nkosikhona Mncube (52), Casper Coetzer (58) and Yvonne Van Niekerk (46) who owned ZA Square Consulting were placed on the Hawks' radar following a forensic audit conducted after a R225 million tender by a UK Canadian based company; Thompson Reuters was awarded to ZA Square in May 2022. The audit discovered that the trio failed to disclose their ownership of ZA Square Consulting when in December 2022 expressed interest in being sub-contractors. They formed part of the tender awarding committees at OCJ knowing their conflict of interest. The audit revealed that the trio was in contravention of the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Activities Act and the Public Administration Management Act thus referred the case to the Johannesburg based Serious Corruption Investigation for in-depth probe.

The Hawks conducted a search and seizure operation in August 2022 at the premises of the three individuals where electronic devices were confiscated for investigation. Mncube, Coetzer and Van Niekerk made a brief appearance in the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court where they were granted R10 000 bail each and their case postponed to 07 February 2024 for disclosure.

The Provincial Head of Hawks in Gauteng, Maj Gen Ebrahim Kadwa applauded the investigation team for the meticulous exploration of the case and encouraged them to ensure a successful conviction.

Media Statement - Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks)