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Ricardo Mettler in court.
- A former bodyguard of the ANC secretary general, Ace Magashule, is on trial for the theft of a painting worth millions.
- Ricardo Mettler claims that Magashule gave him the painting as a gift, but this is disputed.
- JH Pierneef’s painting is estimated to be worth around R8 million and belongs to the state.
A former bodyguard accused of stealing a painting worth millions from the office of the Prime Minister of the Free State claims that former Prime Minister Ace Magashule, now secretary general of the ANC, gave it to him as a gift.
The case against Ricardo Metler is currently being examined in the Free State Superior Court in Bloemfontein.
The painting, by South African painter JH Pierneef, was allegedly taken from a safe in Magashule’s office in March 2018.
Representing a mountainous landscape in the Free State, Pierneef undated belongs to the Free State government. Since Pierneef is considered one of South Africa’s old masters, the painting was valued at approximately R8 million when it disappeared two years ago, Arts24 reported.
But Metler maintained this week that Magashule had given him the painting and other gifts when he left the prime minister’s office, according to Netwerk24.
Mettler reportedly said that he initially paid no attention to the painting in its gold frame. It was among the pile of goods Magashule donated to him, he said. Later he realized that it was valuable. If he had known it was a state asset, he would not have taken it, he said. A barcode was missing that would have identified the painting as a state asset.
READ | What happened to the Pierneef painting that disappeared from Ace Magashule’s office?
Given as a guarantee
The painting was then given to businessman Wei-Lin Hsu as collateral when Mettler asked him to loan him R2.1 million.
Wei-Lin called the auction house Strauss & Co to inquire about the value, origins and ownership of the painting.
In trying to find out who owned the painting, Strauss & Co drew attention to the work by including an image of the painting in an upcoming auction advertisement. After seeing the ad, an art buyer familiar with the provincial government collection notified officials that the Pierneef may have been stolen.
Pierneef’s painting
The missing status of the painting was made official in September 2018.
The court has heard testimony from several witnesses, including Magashule.
According to Netwerk24, Magashule stated that it did not know whether Pierneef was a person or a painting, and that it would not have given away state property.
When news of the missing painting broke, Magashule asked Mettler about it, but he said he only took things that didn’t have a barcode.
“I asked him specifically about the painting and he said it didn’t have a barcode on it,” Magashule testified, according to Netwerk24.
Unsigned letter
Wei-Lin, a real estate developer at the Woodland Hills estate near Bloemfontein, also testified before Judge Soma Naidoo.
He reportedly told the court that Mettler told him that he had asked Magashule if he could take the painting, to which the former prime minister apparently agreed.
On Thursday, Magashule’s former personal assistant testified from Washington in the United States via Zoom.
Moroadi Cholota reportedly testified that Mettler had asked him to send him a letter granting him permission to remove the gifts that he apparently received from Magashule from the building. She refused, but allowed him to write the letter himself, using his computer. She testified that she had no reason to suspect Mettler of any crime, Netwerk24 reported.
Magashule allegedly testified that she was not aware of the unsigned letter.
The case resumes on Monday.
– Compiled by Riaan Grobler
