All eyes are on the National Prosecuting Authority as it experiences serious hurdles in the Free State asbestos case.
This week saw lawyer for former Premier Ace Magashule Lawrence Hodes SC pressure a senior Hawks investigator to admit that the NPA has been desperate to get anyone implicate him.
Captain Benjamin Calitz is testifying in the trial within trial brought by Magashule’s former Personal Assistant Moroadi Cholota who is contesting the legality of her extradition from the USA.
She’s accusing the NPA of ambushing her with an extradition order when there was an agreement ( between her and the investigators) that she provide a written warning statement only to be whisked out of the US hastily.
Cholota was also at some stage offered immunity on the basis that she implicates the former ANC leader but was made a suspect when she could not implicate him.
Hodes pressured the investigator into admitting being made to act unethically in a desperate bid to nail Magashule who has since formed his own African Congress for Transformation.
“So now, let’s just put this into line a few days and string everything correctly, okay? You sat with the student on the 23rd of September. She said to you, I want a legal representative. It took 15 minutes to find one, it wasn’t available.You then terminated the meeting on a clear and unequivocal understanding that she would have one month within which to provide a warning statement because of her right to a legal representative before she does, so you agree. Yet somehow, you come back to South Africa and you get an instruction and you apply for a warrant long before the expiration of that time period, do you agree with me?” asked Hodes with Calitz responding in the affirmative.
Calitz also admitted that pressure was applied on Cholota to implicate Magashule which did not happen.
The NPA has meanwhile secured a preservation order from the Bloemfontein High Court to freeze assets valued at over R34 million, believed to be linked to the controversial R255-million asbestos tender.
The order authorizes the Asset Forfeiture Unit to seize six properties worth R32 million and a Mercedes-Benz bought for R2 million in cash, all suspected to be proceeds of corruption and money laundering.
The NPA is also in a scramble to salvage what remains of a case against Nigerian televangelist and self proclaimed Pastor Timothy Omotoso whom it failed to convict on 32 charges of rape drawing criticism from the presiding judge Irma Schoeman who said the prosecution did not do its best in the case.
Omotoso was arrested again on saturday but released when he appeared in court after it was shown he had been kept in custody for longer than the prescribed 48 hour period an accused person could be detained for before authorities have to present them to a court.