Staff Reporter
ACE Magashule, the former Premier of the Free State province in South Africa and the current Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC), will face charges of corruption when he appears in court on Friday.
The charges formulated against Magaushule fall under the same act as that of the prosecution of former president Jacob Zuma over alleged arms deal corruption.
Magashule is being charged under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act for offences he allegedly committed in 2014 and 2015.
Prosecutors in South Africa issued a warrant of arrest for Magashule on Monday.
He is widely viewed as one of the most powerful politicians in South Africa.
The warrant has been issued in relation to Magashule’s alleged role in a R260 million contract to find and remove asbestos from homes in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the Free State province.
On Tuesday, the 61-year-old politician said he was “ready for anything” and claimed that the “enemy” had infiltrated the governing party.
“I have not done anything wrong. I am a law abiding citizen,” Magashule said while campaigning in the Soweto township for upcoming by-elections.
A statement from the ANC said only that the party would be “monitoring developments”.
Zuma was forced to resign in 2017 amid allegations of systematic corruption and mismanagement.
Public outrage in South Africa has been building for years but was fuelled in recent months by a series of scandals involving massive sums corruptly earned on government contracts for emergency supplies to combat the Covid-19 pandemic and grants to support the most needy.
There have also been a series of revelations about systematic corruption in major government utilities and ministries at the televised hearings of a judicial inquiry.
In June, President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered that evidence presented at the inquiry could be used by prosecutors, potentially opening up hundreds of cases for further action.
Magashule is scheduled to appear before magistrates in Bloemfontein, the capital of Free State province, on Friday.
Sources: theguardian.com
