Eskom contractor Michael Lomas, 79, walked free from the Gauteng High Court on Thursday 6 August 2026 after receiving a wholly suspended 15-year sentence following his guilty plea to 34 charges of corruption linked to the R1.4 billion Kusile Power Station contract. Image:supplied
Eskom contractor Michael Lomas has walked out of the Gauteng High Court a free man after pleading guilty to one of the most staggering corruption cases in South African history. The Michael Lomas Eskom suspended sentence came on Thursday 6 August 2026. Furthermore, the 79-year-old British businessman admitted to pocketing R745 million and channelling more than R2.6 million in bribes to senior Eskom officials. As a result, South Africa is furious.
The Sentence That Shocked South Africa
The court gave Lomas a 15-year prison sentence. However, it suspended the entire sentence for five years. He will not spend another day behind bars. The court noted he had already served 10 months in custody after arriving from the United Kingdom in September 2024. Furthermore, his legal team told the court he was 79 years old and living in round-the-clock care. Correctional services had nowhere to house a prisoner with his medical needs. As a result, a man who helped drain nearly a billion rands from a state entity that plunged South Africa into years of darkness left court a free man.
What Michael Lomas Admitted in His Guilty Plea
The case centres on Eskom’s R1.4 billion contract for work on the Kusile Power Station in Mpumalanga. Eskom paid Tubular Construction Projects R745 million for that work. Lomas admitted he made 10 payments totalling R2.25 million into accounts linked to former senior Eskom manager Frans Hlakudi. He also paid 24 monthly rental instalments totalling R396,000 for a Midrand apartment. Those payments benefited Hlakudi and former senior Eskom manager Abram Masango. Furthermore, Lomas admitted he made these payments to influence the two managers to award the Kusile contract to Tubular Construction Projects. As a result, the court convicted him on 34 corruption charges for payments made between February 2015 and April 2017.
Co-Accused Kgomoeswana Gets Effective Jail Time
Lomas was not the only accused to reach a plea deal on Thursday. His co-accused Hudson Kgomoeswana also pleaded guilty. Kgomoeswana admitted to one count of corruption, 18 counts of money laundering and 15 counts of contravening the Tax Administration Act. The charges relate to more than R6 million paid to a former senior Eskom employee through his company Babinatlou Business Services. Furthermore, Kgomoeswana kept R757,000 for making his accounts available to move the corrupt payments. The court gave him 15 years, of which 10 years were suspended for five years. As a result, Kgomoeswana faces an effective five years in prison while Lomas walks free entirely.
How Lomas Ended Up in a South African Court
Lomas fled South Africa through Namibia in 2018. Police placed him on their most wanted list. British police arrested him in London in April 2021 at the request of South African authorities. He received bail of £100,000 plus a further £250,000 in surety. South Africa granted his extradition in August 2024. Police escorted him home from the UK in September 2024, accompanied by a doctor, via OR Tambo International Airport. Furthermore, Tubular Construction Projects CEO Antonio Trindade was declared unfit to stand trial by Sterkfontein Hospital. As a result, the case against the remaining accused Frans Hlakudi and Abram Masango returned to court on 7 August 2026 for trial.
South Africa Reacts to the Michael Lomas Eskom Suspended Sentence
The public reaction has been fierce. Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi was direct. “What kind of sentencing is this? Almost a billion lost in corruption and he gets to go home? If our courts and NPA are so lenient on corruption, how the hell do they imagine the war against it will be won? Corruption of this magnitude is the biggest cause of state and developmental failure! Terrible sentencing!” Ndlozi said. Commentary across social media reflects the same outrage. Many South Africans described the outcome as a failure of justice. As a result, the Michael Lomas case has reignited a debate about whether South Africa’s courts treat the wealthy differently from everyone else.
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Editors Note Frans Hlakudi and Abram Masango are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. All charges against them are unproven and will be tested in court. Michael Lomas and Hudson Kgomoeswana have been convicted following plea agreements accepted by the Gauteng High Court on 6 August 2026. Mzansi Today Live will update this article as further information becomes available.