Former South African Airways chairperson Dudu Myeni has been released on bail of ZAR10,000 rands (USD530) after she was arrested on September 29 on charges of fraud and corruption in connection with alleged kickbacks of more than ZAR300,000 (USD15,870) relating to longstanding state capture investigations.

Myeni is accused of receiving security upgrades at her Richards Bay home and hotel and travel expenses from now-defunct Bosasa, a company that provided various services to the South African government. Bosasa was liquidated in 2019 after a scandal about its alleged corrupt relationship with members of the governing African National Congress (ANC) was revealed during the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into state capture. The kickbacks are alleged to have been paid for by Sondolo IT, a subsidiary of Bosasa.

Myeni appeared in the Richards Bay Magistrate’s Court along with Sondolo IT former director Trevor Mathenjwa, who was also granted ZAR10,000 bail. The pair will appear again in the same court on November 17, according to a statement released by the Investigating Directorate (ID) of South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

"During the tenure of Myeni as chairperson of SAA, she had a legal duty to disclose her interests in terms of the SAA Conflict of Interest Policy, which we allege she failed to do," said ID spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka. "Myeni is accused of having received security upgrades for her Richards Bay premises from May 2014 to March 2015, to the value of ZAR200,000 (USD10,580). She is further accused of benefiting from hotel accommodation and travel expenses for herself and persons close to her from Bosasa, facilitated by Blake Travels, between May 2014 and March 2015 for over R107,000 (USD5,660)."

Myeni was a non-executive director of SAA from September 2009 and served as chairperson from January 2015 until November 2017.

She was declared a "delinquent director" on May 27, 2020, by the South African High Court (Gauteng Division, Pretoria) in a case brought by South African corruption watchdog Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA). The court found she had acted dishonestly, recklessly, and with gross negligence and breached her fiduciary duties during the tenure of her directorship, causing significant harm to SAA and the country.

Corruption allegations against Myeni have persisted for years. In 2014, it was alleged that she had close ties to former President Jacob Zuma and that she had facilitated the awarding of contracts to companies linked to the Gupta family, a wealthy Indian family accused of using their close links with Zuma to win business contracts, influence high-profile government appointments, and misappropriate state funds. In 2019, the Zondo Commission found that Myeni had facilitated corruption and influenced Zuma to favour Bosasa, and in January 2022, a commission report recommended that she be charged with corruption and fraud.

In particular, she was accused of trying to introduce a third-party African leasing company in a Treasury-sanctioned deal between SAA and Airbus. Then-Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene intervened but was sacked by Zuma in what became known as "Nene Gate". In 2015, Myeni unjustifiably scuppered a lucrative deal between SAA and Emirates, deliberately acted dishonestly, and grossly abused her powers, according to court findings.