Former Eskom contractor Michael Lomas will know next month whether his bid to be released on bail was successful.
The Johannesburg high court on Thursday postponed his bail application until March 17 for judgment.
“Both the state and Lomas’s attorney completed their heads of argument, and the state argued strongly against the granting of bail,” Investigating Directorate spokesperson Henry Mamothame said.
He said the state argued that Lomas was a flight and suicide risk based on the reports by two psychiatrists sourced by him in the UK during his extradition hearing, wherein they declared him to be a suicide risk.
“Furthermore, the state made reference to how he left South Africa through Namibia to the UK in March 2018, possibly knowing that investigations were being conducted on the Kusile matter.”
Lomas was extradited from the UK in September last year. His case was eventually transferred to the high court to be joined with that of 11 others charged with him. They are facing 41 counts of corruption linked to R1.4bn that was meant for the upgrade of Eskom’s Kusile power station in Mpumalanga between 2014 and 2017.
TimesLIVE
High court to decide on Michael Lomas's bail bid on March 17
Image: NPA.
Former Eskom contractor Michael Lomas will know next month whether his bid to be released on bail was successful.
The Johannesburg high court on Thursday postponed his bail application until March 17 for judgment.
“Both the state and Lomas’s attorney completed their heads of argument, and the state argued strongly against the granting of bail,” Investigating Directorate spokesperson Henry Mamothame said.
He said the state argued that Lomas was a flight and suicide risk based on the reports by two psychiatrists sourced by him in the UK during his extradition hearing, wherein they declared him to be a suicide risk.
“Furthermore, the state made reference to how he left South Africa through Namibia to the UK in March 2018, possibly knowing that investigations were being conducted on the Kusile matter.”
Lomas was extradited from the UK in September last year. His case was eventually transferred to the high court to be joined with that of 11 others charged with him. They are facing 41 counts of corruption linked to R1.4bn that was meant for the upgrade of Eskom’s Kusile power station in Mpumalanga between 2014 and 2017.
TimesLIVE
READ MORE:
State claims Lomas is a flight and suicide risk as it opposes his bail application
Former Eskom contractor Michael Lomas applies for bail
Lomas corruption case transferred to the Johannesburg high court
Lomas ‘feeling fresh after cold shower this morning’ as he remains in prison
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