Suspended ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule's Asbestos Corruption Trial Postponed
- Ace Magashule's asbestos corruption trial has been postponed to October by the Bloemfontein High Court
- The suspended ANC secretary-general and his 15 co-accused are expected to appear in court on 19 October at 9am
- South Africans took to social media with mixed reactions to the news that Magashule's case had been postponed
BLOEMFONTEIN - Suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule's R255 million tender corruption trial was postponed by the Bloemfontein High Court on Wednesday.
According to The Citizen, Magashule and his 15 co-accused, including five companies, are set to appear in the Bloemfontein High Court for a pre-trial on 19 October.
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The judge granted bail to 11 of the accused and the court is set to resume at 9am on the new date set by the court.
“All the accused are on bail except for the juristic persons, which is [sic] accused 4, 5, 6 and 10. All the accused are then warned to be in this court again at nine o’clock in the morning,” the judge said.
Magashule and his co-accused, which include businessmen Sello Radebe, Edwin Sodi and Abel Manyeki, are facing 70 charges related to fraud, corruption and money laundering for their role in the asbestos tender procurement to remove roofing in the Free State in 2014.
Magashule is confident there is no case against him
Speaking to the media outside the courthouse, Magashule stated that the indictment presented showed that there was no case against him, reports The South African. He stated that he was ready to clear his name and that the case against him was political.
“This is a political matter, nothing to do with law. I am ready to clear my name, you see I am here and I am well protected by soldiers and police,” said Magashule.
Magashule also expressed that he was shocked that his former assistant had turned state witness.
South Africans react to news that Magashule's case has been postponed
Briefly News posted the news that Magashule's corruption trial had been postponed. Many had a lot to say with some suggesting that Magashule's case would be postponed again.
Here are the reactions:
Papa-methyane Molokwane says:
"This is just the beginning of the end for ace "mastermind" magashule. Law will definitely take its course."
Michael van Zyl says:
"With the ANC cadres in SA we do not have court cases. ..We have postponements ....."
Tebogo Baloi
"I wonder how old is Magashule, these guy is so arrogant and childish, is like he doesn't even care about lives which were lost because of his greediness, mxm"
Dave Tjiane says:
"They will postpone until Jesus come."
Tshepo Hope says:
"This one will follow his brother Zuma...they're in trouble "
NPA says suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule has not filed papers in High Court
Briefly News previously reported that the National Prosecuting Authority says it is prepared for suspended ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule's asbestos hearing set to take place at the Bloemfontein High Court on Wednesday.
According to SABC News, the NPA also stated that despite allegations by Magashule that he has approached the High Court in an attempt to mandatethe NPA to hand over the full indictment in his asbestos corruption case, they have not received the paperwork from Magashule's team.
“I can confirm that the prosecution team has not received any application or papers filed by Mr Magashule in respect of the matter of the asbestos," said NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga.
Source: Briefly News
