Former Eskom contractor Michael Harry Lomas will remain behind bars after his corruption case was postponed to next month for a formal disclosure of the case docket. Lomas appeared before the Johannesburg specialised commercial crimes court, sitting in Palm Ridge yesterday, where he was due to formally apply for bail. The case was postponed to October 28 frail-looking 77-year-old Lomas arrived in court using a walker. 

FACING 65 CHARGES

Lomas is facing 65 counts of corruption linked to the R1.4 billion that was meant for the upgrade of Eskom's Kusile power station in Mpumalanga between 2014 and 2017. Lomas's defence, advocate Mannie Witz, told the court that they will skip the bail application for this appearance. Witz explained that they had been given specific documents and will have to download large files and documents from the docket in the coming days. "It is more than a terabyte of files. Once we have studied the content of the case docket, we will consult with our client and take proper instructions," Witz said.

EXTRADITED

Lomas was recently extradited from the United Kingdom (UK) following the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption's (IDAC) lengthy efforts to extradite him and officially charge him. Lomas was arrested on 15 April 2021 in Emsworth, London, and granted bail of R1.7 million in April 2021. On 15 December 2022, the Westminster Magistrates Court in London granted South Africa the right to extradite him. Lomas will be back in court on October 28.