The Free State High Court on Monday dismissed an urgent application by Moraadi Cholota, the former personal assistant to former Free State premier Ace Magashule, to drop fraud and corruption charges against her.
Cholota wanted the court to declare that the charges against her were unconstitutional and invalid and that the state’s position on her extradition from the US made it unlawful.
The charges against Cholota relate to a R255 million asbestos contract awarded about six years ago by the Free State Department of Human Settlements to the joint venture Blackhead Consulting to inspect, assess and remove asbestos from homes in some of the poorest areas of the Free State.
The Public Prosecution Service (NPA) had initially requested Cholota, who studied in the US, to be extradited in 2022. Her case was linked to a corruption case involving R255 million in asbestos tenders.
The US court approved the extradition this year after ruling that the NPA had provided “sufficient evidence.”
Cholota arrived in South Africa on August 8. On August 15, she was granted bail of R2,500 by the Bloemfontein court.
After hearing arguments from counsel representing the state and Cholota, Judge Mareena Opperman ruled that Cholota’s application to register the case as urgent was dismissed with costs. She said the reasons for her order would follow in due course.
TimesLIVE
Ernest Mabuza
www.timeslive.co.za
