Latest news with #Cholota
Eyewitness News
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
NPA could take bid to bring Cholota all the way to ConCourt
JOHANNESBURG - The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said it could take its bid to bring former Free State Premier Ace Magashule's ex-assistant Moroadi Cholotato all the way to the Constitutional Court. This is part of the NPA's plans to revive its corruption case against Cholota after suffering a legal blow at the Bloemfontein High Court in June. Cholota walked free on a technicality after the court ruled that her extradition from the United States (US) was unlawful and unconstitutional. The State's first attempt to challenge the judgment failed when the Bloemfontein High Court dismissed an application for leave to appeal. The NPA has now announced plans to take its petition to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). The NPA said it believes Judge Phillip Loubster erred in dismissing the application for leave to appeal and that there are reasonable prospects of success to appeal at the SCA. Given the possible far-reaching implications on many other extradition matters, the NPA said it is also exploring the possibility of approaching the apex court, challenging the same judgment. The State believes Cholota is a key figure in the asbestos case and in holding her former boss, Ace Magashule, to account for the scam. Magashule and a dozen others will still face corruption and fraud charges in relation to the botched R255 million asbestos contract when the trial resumes in January.
TimesLIVE
02-07-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
NPA petitions SCA on discharge of Ace Magashule's ex-PA Moroadi Cholota
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has filed a petition with the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) for leave to appeal the judgment delivered in the Free State High Court regarding Moroadi Cholota's special plea on the lack of the court's jurisdiction in the asbestos case. Last month Cholota successfully challenged her extradition from the US to testify in the corruption trial where her former boss, former Free State premier Ace Magashule, is one of the accused. The NPA initially filed for Cholota, who was studying in the US, to be extradited in 2022 after linking her to the corruption case. After her extradition, Cholota was included in the case as an accused. However, judge Phillip Loubser said Cholota's extradition was unlawful and the court was precluded from trying the offences she was charged with. She was then discharged. 'The petition to the SCA follows after judge Loubser dismissed the NPA's request for the judge to reserve questions of law in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act,' NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said. He said the NPA believed the judge erred in dismissing the application for leave to appeal, there were reasonable prospects of success to appeal the judgment and there were compelling reasons for the SCA to hear the state's appeal. 'We are also exploring the possibility of approaching the Constitutional Court, challenging the same judgment, given the possible far-reaching implications on many other extradition matters.' TimesLIVE reported the charges Cholota was facing related to a R255m asbestos contract awarded about six years ago by the Free State department of human settlements to the Blackhead Consulting joint venture to audit, assess and remove asbestos from homes in some of the Free State's poorest areas.
Eyewitness News
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
NPA escalates fight to get Magashule's ex-PA Cholota back in the dock to SCA
JOHANNESBURG - The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has escalated its fight to get former Free State Premier Ace Magashule's ex-assistant, Moroadi Cholota, back in the dock to the Supreme Court of Appeal. This is after the Bloemfontein High Court dismissed the State's application for leave to appeal a judgment that saw Cholota walk free on a technicality in June. READ: Lawyer says it's up to Moroadi Cholota on whether she'll sue State for her unlawful extradition from US Cholota was among a dozen high-profile figures facing corruption and fraud charges in a botched R255 million contract. Last month, the NPA suffered a massive blow in the asbestos trial-within-a-trial, after the court ruled that Cholota's extradition from the US was unlawful and unconstitutional. She claimed that State prosecutors and Hawks investigators in the matter based the extradition application on falsehoods, intentionally misleading US authorities in the effort to haul her back to South Africa. The court also ruled that only the justice minister could spearhead an extradition process and not the NPA, as was the case in Cholota's matter. As a key figure in the State's case against Magashule, the NPA challenged the court's decision, but the court dismissed the NPA's application for leave to appeal. The NPA said it believes that Judge Phillip Loubster erred in his dismissal of the application, adding that there were compelling reasons for the SCA to hear its appeal. The main trial against Magashule, businessman Edwin Sodi and a dozen others is set to continue in January next year.
IOL News
02-07-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
NPA petitions the Supreme Court of Appeal over Cholota ruling appeal
The National Prosecuting Authority has petitioned the Supreme Court of Appeal following a controversial dismissal by Judge Loubser of their application for leave to appeal. The National Prosecuting Authority has petitioned the Supreme Court of Appeal following a controversial dismissal by the Free State Division of the High Court, Bloemfontein on its application for leave to appeal. The petition, filed on Monday, comes after Judge Loubser dismissed the NPA's request for the judge to reserve questions of law under Section 319 of the Criminal Procedure Act. The ruling has drawn attention as it relates to the jurisdictional authority of the Free State Division of the High Court to hear the case against Moraidi Cholota, who has been implicated in the ongoing asbestos scandal that has plagued the region. The court found that it has no jurisdiction to try the former Free State premier Ace Magashule's personal assistant in the R255-million asbestos case, as her extradition from the United States of America was unlawful. NPA national spokesperson, Mthunzi Mhaga, said the judge's decision not only undermined the legal process but also initiated a potential gap in justice surrounding the serious allegations presented in the case. "The NPA is of the firm view that the Honourable judge erred in dismissing the application for leave to appeal, and that there are reasonable prospects of success to appeal the Cholota judgment, and that there are compelling reasons for the SCA to hear our appeal. "We are also exploring the possibility of approaching the Constitutional Court, challenging the same judgment, given the possible far-reaching implications on many other extradition matters," said Mhaga. It is important to note that during the previous trial within a trial concerning the jurisdiction issue, the merits of the state's case against Cholota were neither adjudicated nor formally assessed. This withdrawal from a full examination has led the NPA to maintain that the charges she faces remain viable and can be substantiated in a subsequent trial. IOL News Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.
Daily Maverick
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
‘I will not step down,' NPA head Shamila Batohi tells MPs
With much riding on the shoulders of the NPA's Shamila Batohi, she says she won't quit amid calls for her resignation. Shamila Batohi, the head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), has made it clear that she will not leave her position as National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) following renewed calls for her resignation amid growing concerns about the NPA's failure to prosecute State Capture cases. 'I want to say that, as the NDPP, I will not be stepping down because I believe that we are doing a really good job to serve the people of this country – as we have been – and, particularly, the victims of crime,' Batohi told MPs in Parliament. Batohi was responding to demands for her resignation by uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) MP Sibonelo Nomvalo and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Mathibe Mohlala during a parliamentary justice committee meeting on Tuesday, 17 June. Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi also appeared before the committee to table the department's annual performance plan. Batohi has faced fresh calls to resign or be removed from office in recent weeks, after the NPA was accused of bungling the extradition of Moroadi Cholota, the former personal assistant of corruption-accused former Free State premier Ace Magashule. The Free State Division of the High Court in Bloemfontein ruled earlier this month that Cholota's extradition from the United States was unlawful and unconstitutional on the grounds that the extradition had been requested by the NPA rather than Kubayi. Judge Phillip Loubser concluded that the court therefore did not have the jurisdiction to try her. The mishandling of Cholota's extradition was the latest in a series of NPA failures in prosecuting high-profile State Capture cases. Other mishaps include the institution's failure to secure a conviction of pastor Timothy Omotoso and the failed extradition of the fugitive Gupta brothers in April 2023. Following the Cholota ruling, ActionSA called for Batohi's removal as NDPP and for a 'full parliamentary inquiry' into the NPA's failures. The DA proposed a set of reforms to 'rescue South Africa's broken' NPA. In an interview with SABC Morning Live Host Leanne Manas hours before the DA and ActionSA issued their statements, Batohi said that there were 'less than a dozen' matters that had 'led to this very, very severe criticism of the NPA'. 'There certainly have been setbacks and I don't want to underplay that. There've been major setbacks for the institution. But we're dealing with them,' Batohi said. Batohi took the same line with Parliament on Tuesday, saying she conceded that there 'have been about a dozen cases' for which the NPA had received 'a lot of flak'. However, last week the NPA scored a major win when the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) overturned a Bloemfontein judge's decision to acquit all the accused in the R24.9-million Nulane Investments case, Daily Maverick's Ferial Haffajee reported. This came after acting judge Nompumelelo Gush threw out the case in April 2023, against three former Free State officials, long-time Gupta enterprise employee Ronica Ragavan and businessman Iqbal Sharma. The SCA order means the accused face a retrial before a new judge. Batohi said the SCA order 'vindicates' the NPA and its prosecutor, because 'the courts agreed with our view'. 'The point I make is that there are legal processes, and I urge that we consider these cases individually,' she said. Batohi said there are 'huge systemic problems in the criminal justice system' and as NDPP, she would 'welcome some kind of commission that looks into systemic issues' about addressing South Africa's high crime rate. 'There are huge challenges within the NPA, within the police, [and] within the court system that we need to address to try and address the crime problem in our country,' she said. NPA doing a 'fantastic job' At the meeting, the MK's Mohlala accused Batohi of being 'incompetent', saying that under her leadership the NPA – which he ironically said 'used to enjoy integrity and credibility' – has been turned into 'a basket of shame'. 'We are very surprised that she has not resigned; it means she has a very stubborn conscience,' said Mohlala. He further accused Kubayi of misleading the House when she, in her earlier remarks, said that the NPA had been doing 'a fantastic job' concerning Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) matters, particularly the work of the Missing Persons Task Team. 'Maybe you can fool your friends, not us,' said Mohlala. At the end of the meeting, Batohi hit back at Mohlala's comments, praising the work of the NPA. 'The question was asked whether we are doing a fantastic job, and I'd like to say that the NPA is, in fact, doing a fantastic job,' she said. 'I will never mislead this House. My integrity is really important and I will always be fair and honest. There are some things that we may not be able to speak about, but I will always be transparent and share whatever I can with the people of this country,' said Batohi. In the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) later on Tuesday afternoon, Kubayi was again confronted with questions about the performance of the NPA. 'We do take cognisance of the public outcry and we do pay attention to what is being raised… If we look at these two cases [Omotoso and Cholota] there are lessons to be learnt out of them and more work can be done by [supporting] and providing in terms of oversight over some of the cases,' said the minister. Kubayi highlighted some of the institution's gains. 'The NPA has moved from an annual performance of 50% in [the] 2020-21 financial year, to an organisation that is performing at 73% in 2023-24… Though challenges remain, the improvement in performance is a demonstration of a well-capacitated, well-resourced organisation,' she said. DM
