Deputy Minister of State Security Zizi Kodwa.
- The State Capture Commission has recommended that President Cyril Ramaphosa “consider” Zizi Kodwa’s position as deputy minister.
- Kodwa is said to have been “beholden” to former EOH executive Jehan Mackay
- The commission says Mackay should be subject to multiple criminal investigations.
The State Capture Inquiry has recommended that President Cyril Ramaphosa consider the position of Zizi Kodwa as Deputy Minister of State Security following his implication in questionable transactions between himself and Jehan Mackay, a former director at technology group EOH.The report points to a beneficial relationship involving personal loans made to him by Mackay and an apparent attempt to buy his influence in the awarding of tenders.Between February 2014 and April 2015, EOH-related entities and Mackay are said to have made cash payments of around R1.6 million to Kodwa and another R30 000 for his benefit.Kodwa was at the time not a public servant but the ANC spokesperson at the party’s head office, Luthuli House. From luxury accommodation to loans and other gratuities, Kodwa is found to have been “beholden” to Mackay, the former executive director of EOH Mthombo, a subsidiary of EOH.The inquiry, headed by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, has recommended that “the president considers [sic] the position of Kodwa, as Deputy Minister of State Security,” given that he “appears to find himself in a position where he is beholden to Mackay”.READ | EXPLAINER | How EOH got caught up in a tender mess that drew state capture attention
EOH, through its subsidiary, EOH Mthombo, was a recipient of a number of government contracts that have since come under the scrutiny of law enforcement agencies. Mackay himself is among a group of former executives that EOH is pursuing in a bid to recoup some of the monies lost to the group to corrupt activities. The company has issued summons to former executives in a bid to recoup a combined amount of R6.4 billion. They include co-founder and former CEO Abher Bohbat; ex-CFO John King, and Ebrahim Laher, who headed the firm’s international business.
Zondo says it is clear that Mackay was attempting to buy influence by making the loans that he made to Kodwa and by providing him with luxury accommodation. He says he repeatedly attempted to engage Kodwa in relation to pending EOH Group tenders.The report says “it is untenable for the deputy minister of State Security to find himself in a position where he is beholden to a suspect in multiple criminal investigations”.It further added that although there was no evidence to show impropriety on the part of Kodwa in relation to the attempts by Mackay to induce him to interfere with procurement processes in the interests of EOH, “it is important to point out that the commission was not able, due to time constraints” to investigate what Kodwa may or may not have done.In April 2021, EOH agreed to pay back over R40 million from contracts awarded by the Department of Defence that were found to be irregular.
