The trial against former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule and co-accused charged with corruption relating to the R255m asbestos roofing removal tender in the Free State has been postponed to 2026.
Free State High Court judge Phillip Loubser postponed the case on Wednesday to January 26 2026, after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) made the request.
Lead prosecutor Johan de Nysschen said the NPA was currently considering appealing against the court’s ruling against Magashule’s former personal assistant, Moroadi Cholota, in which it found the court had no jurisdiction to try her.
“The prima facie view is that we shall appeal the judgment. We will do a complete and thorough application for leave to appeal very shortly. We cannot do that without a postponement,” De Nysschen said.
The trial, having suffered several delays as the accused challenged the case, was expected to continue after the Cholota judgment, but De Nysschen said she was an important part of the main trial.
“It was contemplated that we might continue with the trial for the rest of the accused but the problem is that in our view, accused number 17 [Cholota] forms an intricate part of the bigger case. If we win such an appeal, then she can be added again.
“Once we start leading evidence, we cannot do that; we will have to prosecute her in a separate trial. It has huge cost implications,” De Nysschen said.
The state asked for a postponement until next Friday to deliberate on its stance on the appeal.
Cholota had contested the lawfulness of her arrest in the US last year to stand trial in the corruption case.
Her lawyer, Loyiso Makapela, had argued in the trial within a trial that the NPA had no legal power to request US authorities to extradite Cholota because that power “belonged to the executive [the justice minister]”.
She based the argument that the NPA was not empowered to make the application on a 2024 Supreme Court of Appeal judgment on extradition.
De Nysschen told the court on Wednesday the state was appealing against the SCA’s ruling on extradition, which stipulated the minister of justice had the power to apply for extradition.
“We are of the view that the facts in the matter and the [SCA] matter are different. The SCA could come to another decision in this matter,” he said.
The case was postponed to 2026 as different attorneys told the court they had other cases to attend this year.
An agitated Magashule asked the judge whether the NPA would be ready in 2026 to proceed with the trial, decrying that the delays were costly for the accused.
Loubser said he would not allow the matter to be postponed without valid reasons and understood the effects of the delays on the accused.
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