Ex-SAA Board Member Yakhe Kwinana Charged in Extortion Case

Yakhe Kwinana, a former non-executive board member of South African Airways, appeared in a Johannesburg court on March 18 in connection with multiple extortion and taxi violence cases. Arrested a day earlier in Midrand, Kwinana now faces charges of malicious damage to property and pointing a firearm. Her arrest was carried out by a national task team focused on tackling extortion-related crimes, according to local media reports from The Citizen and IOL.

Kwinana is accused of leading a group of armed men to extort money and order the demolition of properties in East London, Eastern Cape. Following her brief appearance in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court, the case was transferred to the Eastern Cape, where she is expected to reappear on March 24.

In a separate legal matter, the South African High Court in Pretoria dismissed Kwinana’s appeal against her removal from the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. She had been struck off the roll in 2023 after being found guilty of 13 counts of professional misconduct, resulting in a ZAR6.1 million (USD335,000) fine.

These charges stem from the findings of the Zondo Commission into State Capture. Kwinana, who served on SAA’s board from 2009 to 2016 and chaired both South African Airways Technical and the audit and risk committee, was found to have failed in disclosing prior business ties with firms awarded major SAA contracts.

In a related 2024 case, she was released on ZAR20,000 (USD1,100) bail on fraud charges tied to a ZAR59 million (USD3.2 million) auditing tender.

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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, ch-aviation.com