Suspended ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule Says Asbestos Corruption Charges Are Politically Motivated
- African National Congress' suspended secretary-general Ace Magashule does not believe that the state has a case against him
- Magashule has alluded that the charges of corruption brought against them have political motives and is an attempt to remove him from office
- Magashule went on to accuse the National Prosecuting Authority of lying about securing his former assistant as a state witness
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BLOEMFONTEIN - Speaking to the media outside the Bloemfontein High Court after his asbestos corruption trial was postponed until October, suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule stated that the charges brought against him are politically motivated.
Magahsule stated that these charges against him seem to be a tactic to remove him from his position in an effort to capture the institution, according to EWN.
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He added that the charges against him had no bearing and merely that they were deliberately brought against him due to political motivations.
Magashule says he maintains his innocence and that he has done nothing wrong. He told eNCA reporters that his case had nothing to do with the law and was simply a political matter.
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Magashule says indictment does not implicate him
The suspended ANC secretary-general also stated that he has taken a look at the indictment and says that there are no clear charges against him.
"In terms of the indictment and the charges, you don't know where Magashule fits in there," said Magashule.
Magashule accuses the state of lying about state witness
Magashule has accused the National Prosecuting Authority of lying about getting his former assistant Moroadi Cholota to testify against him. He said the NPA made claims about Cholota back in February which he says have been false.
"In February they said Cholota is a star witness against Magashule when they knew that they were lying. I'm using this word deliberate and conscious because that's what they have done," said Magashule.
Magashule also claimed that the NPA has been trying to get Cholota to turn state witness with the help of the FBI which clearly proves that this case is a political vendetta. He did not state which FBI he was referring to.
"They are even trying to get Cholota through FBI and they have several meetings with FBI and you must tell me that there is no political agenda when such institutions are actually engaged here," Magashule added.
He added that he was worried that the state might threaten Cholota to submit a false testimony.
Suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule's asbestos corruption trial postponed
Briefly News previously reported that 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.
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.
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.
Source: Briefly News
