IEC head Nomsa Masuku’s nephew gets R20,000 bail

The nephew of Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) commissioner Nomsa Masuku was granted R20,000 bail when he appeared in the Johannesburg specialised commercial crimes court on Tuesday. 

Ciniso Masuku is alleged to have benefited from the R1.2m fraud involving the corporate social investment (CSI) programme of Standard Bank. 

He appeared in court after he handed himself over to the Hawks earlier in the day. He was processed at the Johannesburg Central police station and charged with fraud and theft. 

The court ordered that he report to the police station twice a week and should not apply for any travel documents. 

Ciniso is charged along with his aunt Nomsa Masuku and Phillip Roux, who have also appeared in court. Nomsa Masuku was granted R20,000 bail and Roux R10,000.

It was previously reported that Nomsa Masuku was the head of Standard Bank’s CSI and one of the founders of the bank’s Adopt-a-School Scholarship Trust, established in March 2011 to provide scholarships, bursaries and awards for study, research or teaching to pupils from schools adopted by the programme who meet selection criteria.

She allegedly transferred R800,000 in December 2012 and March 2013 to Silver Arrow Management Solutions whose director, Roux, was one of the trustees of the trust. Roux allegedly transferred R335,000 in six separate instalments back to Nomsa’s account “with the intent to conceal the source of this money, which is Standard Bank”.

Ciniso Masuku allegedly did not qualify to benefit from the bursary scheme as his marks were low and because his aunt was working for the bank, but he was one of the beneficiaries.

Nomsa Masuku was allegedly the only participant when Ciniso was awarded a bursary and payments. 

During his bail application, the court heard Ciniso Masuku was born in Eswatini but is an SA citizen and has lived most of his adult life in the country. He said his father, who has since passed away, was a South African. The court heard he did not own any meaningful assets and he lived with his sister in Northriding, Johannesburg. 

He has a diploma in multimedia and when he worked he used to earn about R5,000 to R6,000 a month. He told the court he was a freelance animator but is now unemployed.

Ciniso Masuku will join his aunt and Roux in their next court appearance on February 6. 

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