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The ANC general secretary faces charges of corruption and fraud, which abused his position of authority, violated the trust of his office and violated his legal duties while he was Prime Minister of the Free State.
ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule addresses supporters outside Bloemfontein Magistrates Court, where he appeared on November 13, 2020, on charges related to corruption. Photo: Abigail Javier / EWN
JOHANNESBURG – The National Prosecutor’s Office relies on its case against ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule, who faces corruption and fraud charges, who abused his position of authority, violated the trust of his office and violated his legal duties while he was Prime Minister of the Free State.
His charge sheet details incidents in which he allegedly received supplier payments facilitated by the late Ignatius Mpambani, who was shot and killed in Sandton in 2018.
Mpambani’s Diamond Hill and Edwin Sodi’s Blackhead Company received the R255 million asbestos contract, but the state capture commission heard that only a fraction of this was spent on the contract.
Magashule’s charge sheet read:
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was aware of the irregular and / or illegal nature of the agreement between Blackhead, Mpambani and the Department of Human Settlements;
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accepted the R470,000 bonus from M-Tag systems for 200 electronic tablets that were not legally owed; Y
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accepted two more payments of R200,000 and R100,000 from Griffin Edge, again for 200 tablets.
It also says that Mpambani paid R250,000 for Magashule and a delegation from the province to travel to Cuba through Astra Travel.
Sipho Ngwema of the NPA said all the defendants would return to court in February.
“We hope to add three more defendants to the charge sheet and hope that in February we will set a date for the trial.”
Sipho Ngwema of the NPA said they expected the case to move to High Court when it resumes next year.
“We have a good case and we are ready to go to trial.”
The person who, according to many witnesses, transmitted messages of requests and orders to and from Magashule, his former PA Moroadi Cholota, is a state witness with whom the former prime minister is now prohibited from contacting directly or through third parties.
‘I WILL NEVER LEAVE THE ANC’
After receiving a 200,000 rand bond, Magashule told his supporters outside of court that only the ANC branches could decide whether to withdraw.
“I was elected by the branches at the conference. The voices from the branches must tell me to step aside and then I will.”
This is in contrast to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s instruction that all members charged with a crime must withdraw.
He said he would never leave the ANC, regardless of what happened.
“I will never leave the ANC. I will not do like those leaders who left the ANC. I’m staying at the ANC. I will come to defend it. You won’t take me away You will find me there. “
GALLERY: Fans come out in numbers for Ace Magashule
ANC spokesman Pule Mabe was also in court and indicated that Magashule said it would continue to cooperate with the court.
“He was here in court and still showed the necessary cooperation. It is very encouraging to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies and allow the processes to take their proper course. “
Meanwhile, former Northwest Prime Minister Supra Mahumapelo, who was also in court to support Magashule, said he hoped that the Magashule charges were not a continuation of a mission from Nasrec’s conference to ensure that Magashule did not end. his mandate.
“Then there were rumors that something drastic must be done with Ace Magashule in order not to finish his term as secretary general of the ANC. Now that his attempt to go to court in Nasrec was unsuccessful, I just hope that with these developments that are happening, there is no relationship between what is happening now and what some people said and did at the Nasrec conference. “
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