As taxpayers fork out R2-billion a year for VIP protection for the president and his cohorts, the investigator in the state's defunct R2.2-billion prosecution against former Eskom CEO Matshela Koko said the trial was delayed by severe resource constraints and funding challenges.

"Considering the course of the investigation … and the resources available to conduct the investigation, and other factors that had an impact on the investigation, the investigation was done within a period expected for an investigation of this magnitude to take," the investigator stated in an affidavit before the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Middelburg.

According to the investigator, one of the state's main challenges in finalising the now six-year-old fraud, corruption and money-laundering investigation lay in the protracted process it had to follow to secure a much-needed data analyst and forensic auditor.

"The procurement of the data analyst and the forensic auditor is dependent on processes that are prescribed and to which procurement of services must comply. This can, unfortunately, be a long process," he said, after revealing that the Investigating Directorate's (ID) lead data analyst had resigned in December 2022 and was only replaced in August.

The investigator said, "The NPA [National Prosecuting Authority] procurement processes are to be strictly adhered to and the investigating officers have no control over the processes. The appointment of the data analyst and forensic auditor took much longer than anticipated.

"The data analyst's appointment was confirmed on 28 August 2023, and the forensic accountant's appointment was confirmed on 25 August 2023."

The amount of work involved in analysing the "significant amount of evidence" seized from Koko and his wife's home, among other premises, was immense, the investigator said.

He then went on to detail how officers had taken a total of 19 electronic devices, which would require detailed data analysis before the investigation was finalised. And that, he argued, needed the state to be granted more time to finalise its investigation.

But this evidence failed to convince Magistrate Stanley Jacobs, who on Monday struck the fraud, corruption and money-laundering charges against Koko and his co-accused from the roll.

It can only be reinstated if and when National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi signs off on the case being trial-ready.

The ruling will only intensify criticism of the NPA's failure to successfully pursue complex corruption and fraud matters linked to the state capture era – and comes after its case against the Gupta family network ended in the summary acquittals of all the accused.

The state is attempting to challenge that decision, which saw its investigation of the R24.9-million Nulane fraud case being slammed as a "comedy of errors" by presiding Free State High Court Judge Nompumelelo Gusha.

In this context, Jacobs' ruling that the state's prosecution in the Kusile Power Station matter had been defined by "unreasonable delays" will sting – even if the state can still proceed with the case when its investigations are finalised.

Charged alongside Koko are his wife, Mosima, and stepdaughters, Koketso Aren and Thato Choma. The other accused are Hlupheka Sithole, Eskom's former project director at Kusile and the most senior official on-site; lawyer Johannes Coetzee; Watson Seswai; Lese'tsa Johannes Mutchinya; and former SA Local Government Association CEO Thabo Mokwena.

The prosecution against them centres on corruption accusations linked to a R2.2-billion control and instrumentation tender won by Zabb, the local division of the Swedish-Swiss firm ABB.

Koko, who was Eskom group CEO at the time that this contract was awarded, is alleged to have played a central and corrupt role in what the state intends to argue was a racketeering enterprise.

According to the investigator, the state intends to show that Koko received bribes of R96-million and R38-million, while his wife is alleged to have laundered funds estimated at R28 million. Both also allegedly received holidays as corrupt benefits.

Koko has slammed these figures as "thumb-sucked, which, on the face of it, lacks substance" and pointed out – on the state's own version – that the state was still waiting for a crucial Bowmans report to make its case for where the money involved in the alleged corruption at Eskom had flowed.

According to the case's lead investigator, that report is "99%" finalised.

The magistrate in the Koko case was not, however, convinced.

"The state indicated that the Bowmans report, the flow of funds report, is crucial to the case. I have indicated that I am not intending to get into the merits, but the court wants to make the following observation: The flow of funds, my understanding is that they are relevant in order to prepare the indictment," Jacobs said, echoing Koko's complaint.

"How are you going to indicate who has received [what] through what process? You need that flow of funds."

The magistrate, like Koko, was not persuaded that the investigator had been as open as he could have been about the alleged resource constraints he claimed had hampered the state's investigations of the alleged Eskom malfeasance.

In an affidavit filed before the regional court, Koko referred to ID head Andrea Johnson's interview with News24, in which she stated that "it was my 'flaunting arrogance' which grated the law agencies".

"She further told News24 that she hoped to enrol the matter within the six months of her tenure as ID head. She was appointed in February 2022 and her target was to enrol the case in August 2022. The matter was enrolled in October 2022.

"She ought to have completed her investigation to enrol the matter, and I can only ask myself why there was a rushed approach to arrest me. Her actions were tantamount to prosecution by the media, which has now presented itself as detrimental to the state as the investigations remain incomplete," he said.

Koko also argued that Johnson's statements that his arrest showed "what can be achieved when the ID is properly resourced" undermined the lead investigator's claims that the case against him had been aggravated by resource constraints.

"The only inference I can draw from the differences between what has been submitted before this court and public utterances is that there is a gross misrepresentation of facts by the state," he said.

While the state's inability to present its case against Koko and his co-accused within a year of their arrest has provided fuel for his conspiracy claims against the NPA, they have also sharply revealed the impact of budget cuts and protracted financial bureaucracy on the administration of justice.

This is particularly hard to swallow when contrasted with the ease of government spending on VIP protection for President Cyril Ramaphosa and his high-level cohorts in government.

The Institute of Security Studies previously pointed out that the budget for this protection – which is available to only 200 people – is 74% of the total budget allocated to the NPA and 167% of the Hawks budget.