Simon Nare
The Free State High Court in Bloemfontein on Monday postponed the R255 million asbestos corruption trial of former ANC Secretary General and Free State premier Ace Magashule to 2 March.
Speaking to reporters outside court after a brief appearance, Magashule said that repeated delays were placing the accused under increasing financial strain.
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“What I know is that they are draining us, they have drained us. The state can pay for those guys who committed a lot of atrocities during apartheid times. They have representatives, those who killed our brothers and sisters they are actually funded by the state,” he said.
Magashule and 16 co-accused face charges including fraud, corruption and money laundering linked to a 2014 contract awarded during his tenure as premier to identify and eradicate asbestos roofing on low-cost houses across the province.
The contract was awarded to a joint venture involving businessman Edwin Sodi’s Blackhead Consulting and Diamond Hill Trading.
Sodi and former Free State Human Development Director-General Thabani Zulu are among the co-accused.
The trial has faced repeated delays, including interlocutory litigation. There has been a legal challenge by co-accused Moroadi Cholota regarding the lawfulness of her extradition, with a judgment in a “trial-within-a-trial” expected in February.
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Magashule was removed from his ANC post after the party’s step-aside rule was applied to leaders facing serious criminal charges. He was later expelled following an internal disciplinary process.
He has since launched the African Congress for Transformation, which did not win a seat in the National Assembly in the 2024 election, although the party has secured representation at provincial level in the Free State.
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