Civil society coalition, #UniteBehind, is calling on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to pursue those accountable for the collapse of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).
On Tuesday, 13 October, they will hand over a letter of demands to the NPA in Cape Town.
For the past nine years, the group has been calling for the State to investigate and prosecute those who are responsible for the corruption and demise of the passenger rail service.
According to #UniteBehind, the corruption goes back as far as 2013, when PRASA signed a R3.5 billion contract for 70 locomotives for their trains.
They said after R2.65 billion was already paid only 13 locomotives arrived. After it was established that the trains were too tall for the rail network, seven of the locomotives were sold for R65 million.
Below is a summary of the timeline of what has happened in the past 11 years.
Derailed report
In August 2015, the Public Protector Thuli Madonsela released a scathing 391-page report which laid bare the maladministration and tender irregularities at PRASA. Among Madonsela’s findings was that, the malfeasance regarding irregular contracts at PRASA amounted to over R3 billion.
Zondo forensic evidence
In 2017, the Gauteng High Court set aside PRASA’s contract with Swifambo Rail Leasing. The court said all along, Swifambo was a front for Vossloh Espana. In 2021, the Zondo Commission into State Capture heard that the Portfolio Committee on transport had ignored allegations that the Guptas had tried to hijack a R51 billion locomotive tender at PRASA. In February 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa authorised the Special Investigative Authority (SIU) to probe the corruption at PRASA.
Open Secrets pushes Hawks to act on findings
In May 2025, government transparency activists Open Secrets filed an application at the North Gauteng High Court compelling both the Hawks and the NPA to stop dragging their feet in prosecuting those who were fingered for PRASA corruption. In their application, they said, the application was a step towards holding the Hawks and the NPA accountable for not fulfilling their important public duties to investigate and prosecute crime.
On 18 August 2026, Hawks and the NPA told SCOPA in Parliament that the case regarding the contracts at PRASA was still under investigation and that the forensic firms needed to conduct the work are not yet appointed.