Staff Reporter
Former Free State premier Ace Magashule will have to wait for up to three months to know the outcome of civil litigation proceedings that he and three of his co-accused in the asbestos corruption case initiated in a bid to have charges against them thrown out.
Magashule, together with former head of department for Free State human settlements Nthimotse Mokhesi, businessman Edwin Sodi and former human settlements director-general Thabane Wiseman Zulu, this week approached the Free State High Court claiming their arrests were unlawful and that the charges against them were frivolous and should therefore be dismissed.
The four, who are part of the 16 accused in the failed asbestos audit and removal project valued at about R255 million, are claiming through their legal representatives that they were arrested just a few weeks after testifying at the State Capture Commission, meaning the state allegedly strongly relied on the evidence they gave.
This, they say, is against the law because any self-incriminating evidence they gave at the commission cannot be used against them in a court of law.
The state, they argue, should conduct its own investigations.
On Tuesday, Magashule’s legal counsel Advocate Laurence Hodes told court that his client was not an executive authority in the Free State human settlements department and therefore had no control over the asbestos project.
“There is no evidence in the docket of a legitimate case against me,” said Magashule through his lawyer.
He added: “The trial is a politically motivated fishing expedition aimed at discredit me.”
However, Advocate Nazeer Cassim, acting for the state, dismissed Magashule’s assertions saying the state had a strong case against him and that he was taking chances in his pursuit to have the charges dropped.
He told court the suspended ANC secretary-general and his legal team did not adequately study the docket because there is a clear-cut case against him.
Judge Soma Naidoo has reserved judgment, which is expected before May to allow the criminal case to resume on June 10.
The matter relates to a failed asbestos audit and removal project commissioned by the Free State Human Settlements Department around 2014.
According to the state, the department engaged Sodi, his company Blackhead Consulting (Pty) Ltd and joint-venture partner Diamond Hill (Pty) Ltd as a professional resource team for the eradication of asbestos in the Free State.
Diamond Hill was owned by the late Ignatius Mupambani who was murdered in 2017.
Sodi and his joint-venture partner then subcontracted the work to Sello Joseph Radebe and his company Mastertrade 232 (Pty) Ltd at a cost of about R44.2 million.
Radebe and his company further subcontracted the work to Abel Kgotso Manyeki and his company Ori Group (Pty) Ltd at a cost of nearly R21.4 million.
There are 16 accused in the matter including five companies.
The state alleges that Magashule, former human settlements MEC Olly Mlamleli and government officials had a legal duty to comply with the stipulations in the Public Finance Management Act as well as treasury regulations.