The Free State High Court is set to hear the asbestos corruption case on Monday following a landmark ruling by the Constitutional Court that South African courts have no jurisdiction to prosecute Moroadi Cholota.
The apex court also found that Cholota’s extradition from the United States was unlawful, dealing a major blow to the state’s case in the R255 million asbestos tender corruption matter.
Cholota, the former personal assistant to ex-Free State premier Ace Magashule, has maintained that the trial presents an opportunity for the truth to emerge.
She spoke to the media last week after the Constitutional Court confirmed that her extradition from the US in 2024 was unlawful. Cholota had been brought back to South Africa to face corruption and money laundering charges linked to the controversial asbestos removal project.
Cholota said the state had humiliated her during the extradition process, describing her treatment as degrading and unjust.
“I think the nation also watched as I was taken away from my university where I was studying and unlawfully brought to this country, chained and accompanied by countless men with guns. And this after I had to spend time in jail. As you’ve all watched, I was brought into court shackled, which is something that none of my former accused went through. I was paraded before TV cameras and humiliated before the nation. The state fought for me to be jailed pending this trial,” she said.
The Constitutional Court ruling raises serious questions about the future of the prosecution against Cholota and could have broader implications for the high-profile asbestos corruption case, which has been mired in legal delays and controversy.
The state is expected to outline its next steps when the matter is heard in the Free State High Court on Monday.