THE Hawks have secured a warrant of arrest for ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule.
The arrest warrant is in connection with the Free State asbestos audit contract valued at R255 million.
Magashule is expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Friday, according to the Hawks Free State spokesperson Captain Lynda Steyn.
Magashule said on Tuesday while campaigning in Soweto for Wednesday’s by-elections that he’s not aware of the arrest warrant by the Hawks.
“If it happens then it happens but I am not worried at all because I know I have not done anything wrong, as a law-abiding citizen of South Africa,” Magashule told the media.
Former Free State Social Economic Development MEC Mxolisi Dukwana said the ANC in the Free State welcomes the issuance of the warrant of arrest for Magashule.
Dukwana said Magashule should now step aside in line with the ANC’s resolution on corruption, which says party members formally charged for corruption must immediately step aside from all leadership positions in the party and government.
“The ANC Secretary General knows that he has done so much in this province in terms of corruption. He knew that this day will come. There was no running away from it. He must now face all these allegations in a court of law,” said Dukwana.
“We are excited that the criminal justice system is beginning to show its strength. We commend all men and women who are working hard to clean up corruption in South Africa.”
MKMVA spokesperson Carl Niehaus said the military veterans were dismayed by the warrant of arrest issued for Magashule.
“This is an extremely serious development for both the ANC and our whole community. MKMVA will in due course respond with a comprehensive statement,” Niehaus shortly after the news broke.
“As MKMVA we warned many times against the selective use of corruption charges and the law enforcement agencies as tools for factional targeting and political infighting that cause disunity in the African National Congress (ANC), and overall in our country. It is also fundamentally disrespectful of our Constitution and the rule of law in general.
Analysts described the arrest warrant as significant.
“He is a very powerful individual and there have been allegations of corruption swirling about him for years. It is an important moment for the rule of law, and … sends a powerful message,” said Judith February, an expert in governance and commentator.
A statement from the ANC said only that the party would be “monitoring developments”.
Though President Cyril Ramaphosa is not thought to have intervened in the move to prosecute Magashule, the arrest of a major political rival will be a welcome boost for the president’s continuing efforts to impose his will on the bitterly divided ruling party.
“There are no heroes here. This should have happened a long time ago. But Ramaphosa will be happy. It plays into his anti-corruption agenda,” said Ralph Mathekga, an author and analyst.
Ramaphosa, a labour activist turned wealthy tycoon, is seen as the leader of the ANC’s moderate and reformist wing, while Magashule is the political heir of former president Jacob Zuma, who represents a more radical wing committed to a sharp redistribution of wealth in South Africa.
Zuma was forced to resign in 2017 amid allegations of systematic corruption and mismanagement.
“Within the ANC the tensions remain and Ramaphosa remains leader of the party, so any celebration will be very quiet. He is well aware that the consequences of any arrest of Magashule for the party are very unpredictable,” said Mathekga.
Derek Hanekom, a former ANC minister and leading Ramaphosa loyalist, said prosecutors were “doing exactly what the constitution demands [and] applying the law without fear or favour.”
“No one is above the law. Innocence can be established in court. Or guilt. But a fair hearing is guaranteed,” Hanekom said.
Public outrage has been building for years but was fuelled in recent months by a series of scandals involving massive sums corruptly earned on government contracts for emergency supplies to combat the Covid-19 pandemic and grants to support the most needy.
There have also been a series of revelations about systematic corruption in major government utilities and ministries at the televised hearings of a judicial inquiry.
In June, Ramaphosa ordered that evidence presented at the inquiry could be used by prosecutors, potentially opening up hundreds of cases for further action.
“There is a lot of evidence in the public domain, and that makes the arrest feel perfectly legitimate. The ANC is rotten but hopefully this is the start of a clean up. But it will take a very long time,” said February.
In August, Ramaphosa said ANC officials must take leave from their positions if charged with corruption, and resign if convicted. However the policy has not so far been applied by the party.
Magashule is scheduled to appear before magistrates in Bloemfontein, the capital of Free State province, on Friday.
Although the country has been widely praised for its response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the crisis has dealt a heavy blow to South Africa’s flagging economy, exacerbating soaring unemployment, undermining public finances and derailing infrastructure projects.
(Additional reporting by Guardian)
