Accused 2 in the 2014 failed project, Mahlomola John Matlakala, has since approached the Labour Court in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal following financial constraints. The suspended official, who allegedly worked in supply chain management during the asbestos project, announced through his legal attorney, Lebohang Mokhele, that he has been hit with financial constraints and will be taking the mentioned department to court to cover his legal fees.

According to Mokhele, the case against the Human Settlements is at the Durban Labour Court and they were set to file papers this week.

Mokhele, on Friday 23 September 2022 - during the continuation of the pretrial in the case - told Judge Phillip Loubser that the state should remove the failed R255 million asbestos criminal case from the roll. He said such a move would make way for the state to put its house in order. Mokhele said the constant and long postponements in the trial, including other matters such as the petitioning of the Bloemfontein-based Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), have a financial adverse effect on his client and further added that in an event that the state decides to remove the matter from the roll it will not be prejudiced.

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Of the 18 accused, 17 - including the former Free State Premier Ace Magashule, former MEC for Human Settlements Olly Mlamleli, and businessman Edwin Sodi - on Friday appeared in court to face varying charges including fraud, corruption and money laundering related to the 2014 project. In total, the state has 18 suspects with Moroadi Cholota the newest suspect in the case.

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The state prosecutor, Johan de Nysschen, on Friday told Judge Loubser that two new suspects, including the former Free State Premier's Personal Assistant (PA), have been added to the R255 million failed asbestos project indictment.

De Nysschen said former Premier Ace Magashule's PA, Moroadi Cholota, has been added to the amended indictment. Furthermore, the former Head (HOD) of the Gauteng Human Settlements Department, Margaret-Ann Diedricks, who was arrested in July this year, also made her first High Court appearance on Friday.

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De Nysschen said officials in the United States of America (USA) are currently processing the extradition of Cholota in consultation with the South African government.

OFM News previously reported that, as outlined in Pieter Louis Myburgh’s Gangster State: Unravelling Ace Magashule's Web of Capture, Cholota allegedly made several requests for money transactions to Mpambani.

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 province.

It's understood that more charges have also been added against some of the accused in the case, which is still in its pretrial stages. Previously, some of the accused were facing at least 70 charges but now they will be facing at least 80.

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In November 2021, Cholota penned a nine-page letter and demanded that charges which she termed "unconstitutional” against her - for her alleged role in the failed R255 million asbestos project - be dropped. Cholota penned a nine-page letter with the assistance of her legal representative, detailing her ordeal at the hands of the Hawks and the American FBI. In this letter, Cholota, who has a warrant of arrest against her, said at one point she woke up to a loud knocking and banging on her door by the FBI agent at her apartment in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States, who then demanded that she goes with them.

The accused in this case include Sodi; Mlamleli; Mokhesi; the Director for Supply Chain Management at Human Settlements, Mahlomola John Matlakala; a businessman residing in Johannesburg, 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 of 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.

The pretrial was postponed on Friday 23 September 2022 by the High Court Judge to 20 January 2023. The department is yet to respond to OFM News’ inquiry.

OFM News