Corruption accused suspended ANC secretary general Ace Magashule has made unsubstantiated claims that the case against him has been purposefully delayed by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in order to ensure he does not contest the national ANC elective conference in December.
The pre-trial in the case against Ace Magashule and 16 others has been postponed to September 23 pending the outcome of his appeal at the Supreme Court of Appeal to have the case against him thrown out of court.
Magashule and his co-accused face over 70 counts of corruption, fraud and money laundering linked to the 2015 asbestos tender amounting to R255 million which was awarded to estranged businessman Edwin Sodi’s Blackhead Consulting joint venture. Ace was still premier of the Free State when the tender was awarded.
Magashule decided to submit an application to the higher court in February after he failed to convince the Bloemfontein high court to dismiss the charges against him.
During a brief appearance, Magashule addressed the court directly about how his public image has been affected, saying that the delays were deliberately created to prevent him from contesting in the ANC December conference which will be taking place in less than six months from now.
“I am a politician, and we are going to a conference in December. I will argue that I am not guilty of anything. I have not stolen a cent and it is a deliberate move to prevent me from standing as a leader of the ANC. We know it has been a plan hatched but not by the courts. I also give instructions to my legal representatives, and I just want South Africans to know that we are ready, it is the NPA which is denying us that space,” he said.
Magashule is the top preference for the party’s Radical Economic Transformation in the ANC’s elective conference in December. He will not be able to contest in the elections unless the charges against him are dropped.
Source: Daily Maverick, News24, Eyewitness News, image from Twitter