By Daanyaal Matthews
Former Free State Premiere and member of the ANC, Elias Sekgobelo “Ace” Magashule has found himself in a legal quagmire as he is expected to return to court following the extradition of his former personal assistant, Moroadi Cholota, from the United States.
Cholota plays a key role for the state in this case due to her alleged role as an intermediary for Magashule in requesting funds from businessmen, with Cholota accused of losing the state more than R36.5 million with four counts of fraud and five counts of corruption.
Speaking on VOC’s News Beat show, Melusi Xulu, Managing Director at Donda Attorneys, argueed this will be a litmus test for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which has had recent issues with former Eskom Chief Executive Matshela Koko leading to his case being thrown off the court roll. This incident has raised queries on the state of the NPA, especially with highly technical cases with technological intricacies. For Xulu, this could pose issues for authority.
“There are certain instances where they say they don’t have the resources to follow certain types of cases, and even at some point got a donation from Steinhof, so it is a problem if IT expects or IT related cases have problems because we know it’s a case that requires the state to have its ducks in order.”
As of the 14th of August, Cholota is still undergoing bail proceedings, during which the state has argued that Cholota is a ‘flight risk’ and that bail should be denied, with the trial set to take place in the second quarter of 2025.
VOCNews
Photo: GovernmentZA
