Suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule and his co-accused are back at the Free State High Court this Friday morning for a pre-trial conference for the asbestos audit corruption case.
The trial is set to start in September.
Magashule is jointly charged with 10 other people and five companies in the R255-million corruption case.
He is facing several charges of corruption and fraud, alternatively theft and money laundering.
The other accused include: Free State Human Settlements Department officials Nthimotse Mokhesi (head of the department) and Mahlomola John Matlakala (supply chain management director); Johannesburg businessman and owner of Blackhead Consulting (Pty), Pheagane Edwin Sodi; Fourways businessman Sello Joseph Radebe; Pretoria businessman Abel Kgotso Manyeki; former director-general at the National Department of Human Settlements, Thabane Wiseman Zulu; and former Free State MEC for Human Settlements and former Mangaung mayor Sarah Matawana Mlamleli.
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 province.
Diamond Hill was owned by the late Ignatius Mupambani who was murdered in 2017.
The joint venture was expected to assess and remove asbestos roofs and/or housing as they pose a health hazard to people but the work was never done.
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.
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 in the awarding and implementation of the contract.
The state further alleges that in August 2015, Magashule corruptly accepted gratification of R53 550, paid on his request towards the tuition fees of the daughter of a then acting judge from Mpambani.
It is further alleged that in June 2015, Magashule accepted payment of R 470 000, paid on his request to M–TAG Systems for the acquisition of 200 Electronic tablets from Mpambani.
Furthermore, it is alleged that in June 2015 Magashule accepted a payment of R30 000, paid on his request to SWC Nkate from Mpambani. Between November 2015 and January 2016, a payment of R 250 000, on his request, was made by Mpambani to Astra Travel towards travel expenses of an ANC delegation to Cuba.
Magashule is also accused of failing to report corrupt transactions in contravention of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004.
In March this year, the High Court in Bloemfontein dismissed with costs interlocutory applications brought by Magashule, Sodi, Mokhesi and Zulu in which they sought to have the charges against them dropped.
Magashule has now approached the Supreme Court of Appeal and it is not clear if that process could impact on today’s pre-trial deliberations or the actual trial.
The National Prosecuting Authority has maintained that it has full confidence in the strength of its case and will let the evidence speak for itself during the trial.
Meanwhile, some of the roads around the High Court have been closed in anticipation of large crowds of people who may throng the court precinct this morning.
Mangaung Metro spokesperson Qondile Khedama said in a notice President Brand Street and St George’s Street will be closed for the duration of the case today.
Motorists have been asked to use alternative routes. – Staff Reporter