US backs SA’s high-profile extradition request

The US has thrown its weight behind SA's request for the extradition of former Free State Premier Ace Magashule's corruption-accused ex-PA after finding prosecutors had produced overwhelming evidence of her culpability. In court papers filed at the Maryland District Court, US attorney Erek Barron said the extradition request compiled by SA's National Prosecuting Authority contained extensive evidence that supported its allegations that Magashule's ex-PA, Moroadi Cholota, ‘knew about, and participated in, the illicit contract and kickback scheme’ he is accused of. According to Barron, this corroborating evidence included the fact Cholota possessed two bank accounts. News24 reports that he said Cholota's cousin, as well as Magashule's son, were two of only a handful of beneficiaries of scholarships awarded in January 2018, by the Free State Government to students seeking to study at Bay Atlantic University (BAU) in Washington DC.

News24 notes that he said Cholota had been awarded a grant from the provincial government to study at BAU, despite allegedly not meeting the criteria necessary for such funding. ‘Notably, Magashule served on the Board of Trustees for BAU when Cholota was accepted to the school in July 2019. The record further reflects that Cholota was personally invited by the university to tour the campus,’ Barron stated in court papers. At one stage, Cholota had been a potentially pivotal witness for the state, which is attempting to prove Magashule was embroiled in a corrupt R255m asbestos tender scheme that allegedly saw five high-ranking Free State Government officials receiving R27m in bribes from money meant to fund the removal of harmful asbestos from the homes of the province's poorest residents.