The pretrial was postponed by the High Court Judge to 20 January 2023. This was done to allow some of the accused, including Ace Magashule and businessman Edwin Sodi, among others, to petition the Bloemfontein-based Supreme Court of Appeal's (SCA) ruling to dismiss leave to appeal an earlier High Court judgment.

Magashule and others petitioned Judge Soma Naidoo to dismiss the charges against them. She has since dismissed their application for leave to appeal. 

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Magashule and 16 co-accused appeared in court to deliberate the key details to make way for a trial. The case is still in its pre-trial stages and has been delayed by numerous postponements.

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Among those who appeared in court on Friday, was the latest addition to the indictment, a former HOD of the Department of Human Settlements in Gauteng, Margaret-Ann Diedricks, who was arrested in July for her alleged involvement in the case, who will also join the 16 accused in the dock.

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The suspects are facing varying charges - including fraud, corruption and money laundering - in connection with the failed 2014 project which was meant to eradicate asbestos roofing across the Free State.

During the last court appearance in June 2022, Magashule criticised the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and accused it of “playing politics”.

A visibly frustrated and irritated Magashule told Judge Corné van Zyl that the State has always maintained that it was ready for the trial.

“The prosecuting authorities said they had a case, and that is why we have been arrested and we want a speedy case. In the public eye, we are these corrupt people who do not want to respect the law - we were promised by the presiding authority that this would have been dealt with last year. But it has been postponed and postponed, and even when we get out now, you are going to hear the National Prosecuting Authority say it is us who are delaying the case,” Magashule said previously.

The state alleges that Sodi was irregularly awarded the housing audit tender by the Free State Human Settlements Department in 2014 via his joint venture with Diamond Hill Trading - owned by murdered Welkom businessman Igo Mpambani. Not only was the tender irregular, but kickbacks were reportedly given to some of the accused.

The accused in this case include Sodi, Mlamleli, Mokhesi, as well as the Director for Supply Chain Management at the Department of Human Settlements, Mahlomola John Matlakala; a Johannesburg businessman Sello Joseph Radebe; a Pretoria businessman Abel Kgotso Manyeki; the former Director-General for the National Department of Human Settlements, Thabane Wiseman Zulu; and Albertus Venter, who occupied a role in the Free State Premier’s office.

All the accused are out on bail ranging from R5 000 to R100 000 and were all warned to appear in court on the aforementioned date for the resumption of the pre-trial.

OFM News