Ace Magashule to appear in court: ‘This has been a long time coming’

Civil society organisations have weighed in on the latest development in the country’s fight against corruption – the arrest of ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule in connection with a multi-million-rand asbestos project that dates back to his time as the premier of the Free State.

Corruption Watch says it is always cautiously encouraged when law enforcement agencies are able to secure arrest warrants for high-profile people.

“If the reports are correct, this is an encouraging breakthrough on a matter which has been in the public domain for some time. This has been a long time coming as there have been various cases in which Ace Magashule has been implicated, including the Estina dairy farm case as well as the asbestos case in Free State,” the organisation said.

It was commenting after the news broke that the Hawks had secured an arrest warrant for Magashule.

He is scheduled to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Friday and is expected to be charged under Section 34 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.

The charges relate to his alleged failure to exercise oversight over the awarding of the asbestos contract while he was the premier of the Free State.

While Magashule maintained his innocence, Corruption Watch said law enforcement agencies and the National Prosecuting Authority would not prosecute if they didn’t have the evidence to pursue a successful case.

It said a successful prosecution of such people would “go some way to dispel the view that powerful individuals can get away with it and corruption pays”.

It would be wrong to pre-judge the matter – Helen Suzman Foundation

Helen Suzman Foundation director Francis Antonie, who told News24 on Wednesday that the foundation promoted liberal constitutional democracy and the rule of law, said that it would be wrong to pre-judge the matter.

“Once it is in the courts, we must let the courts evaluate all the evidence and come to a conclusion. It would be wrong and unfair to pre-judge the matter,” he said.

The foundation added that it wanted to be cautious of any input that would undermine the investigation.

“We cannot assume any guilt. I have confidence in our judicial system and the criminal justice system,” he said.

The director added that the country is watching this matter closely and the nation would not be pleased if the matter “fizzled” away due to political connections.

“Let’s begin to clear the mess out so that we can take our country forward. We have got to start coming together around fighting corruption,” he said.

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