WATCH | Magashule unfazed by charges as lawyers continue to challenge prosecution
Former Free State premier Ace Magashule is facing fraud and corruption charges linked to a R255m asbestos tender
Image: Gallo Images/Volksblad/Mlungisi Louw
Former Free State premier Ace Magashule is expected back in the Bloemfontein high court on Tuesday as his lawyers question the legality of the state’s fraud and corruption case against him.
Magashule is accused along with 15 individuals and companies, including businessman Edwin Sodi and Free State human settlements department head Nthimotse Mokhesi.
The companies are said to have benefited improperly from a R255m asbestos tender issued in 2014.
The group are facing a number of charges, including fraud, corruption, contravention of the Public Finance Management Act and money laundering.
Magashule’s approach has been to attack the prosecution’s case, saying the NPA is wasting time.
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“Until today there is no evidence linking me to any asbestos,” Magashule told journalists on Monday.
Defence lawyers have questioned the NPA’s reliance on evidence from the state capture commission of inquiry, arguing that the NPA had no case against Magashule and his co-accused.
However, a 68-page indictment details irregularities in the contracts handed out by the department of human settlements in the Free State. The contract was for the removal of asbestos from homes in various areas in the province.
The indictment indicates that the contract was illegally concluded, the payments done unlawfully and prices were inflated.
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