Moroadi Cholota.
Moroadi Cholota, former personal assistant of the embattled ex-Free State Premier Ace Magashule who was extradited from the USA last Thursday was granted bail on Thursday after making her first appearance on Monday at Bloemfontein Magistrate Court.
Cholota was granted R2 500 bail and ordered to appear in court for all of the asbestos scam hearings. She has to report to the police every Monday and Friday. Cholota and her former boss were linked to a corruption scheme involving the R255million tender awarded to corruption –accused businessman Edwin Sodi as accused person number 17.
Magashule said he is unfazed by Cholota’s arrests because she is not a criminal citing that she is being abused for refusing to be a State witness who will testify against him about false allegations levelled against him.
"We strongly condemn the Hollywood-esque extradition of Cholota, during which she was surrounded by heavily armed Interpol officers, police, and the NPA, as if they were escorting a terrorist. Cholota doesn't pose any threat to anyone and didn't merit the mistreatment she received. The police's extravagant arrival at OR Tambo International Airport was only a theatrical display intended to scare an innocent woman who happens to be a mother. Regrettably, this occurrence takes place during the month dedicated to women and on the eve of International Women's Day," said Magashule, the leader of the African Congress for Transformation (ACT).
She was in the USA police custody for four months since April 12, 2024, which her legal team led by Adv Loyiso Makapela viewed her imprisonment as unlawful because her fellow accused are all out on bail.
Magashule’s former PA in her affidavit: “It is in the interest of justice that I be released from detention at the earliest possible opportunity. While I appreciate the seriousness of the charges levelled against me, I wish to state I am not guilty of any of the charges. I believe the state will not be able to present any objective facts that will prove I engaged in fraud.”
“I have been informed that I'm accused of having committed the offences of fraud, corruption and money laundering. I deny the allegations in the strongest terms. I wish to state I'm confident I will not be found guilty of the charges. I have been detained for almost four months. Not a single one of my co-accused has spent longer than a day in prison. They have all had their freedom and liberty respected by the court.”
Cholota denied allegations that she was not cooperating with the police investigations because she was a witness during outgoing Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s state capture inquiry known as the Zondo Commission in 2019.
“I was a state witness at the Zondo Commission in 2019 and I was not charged along with my co-accused because there was no evidence linking me. I was informed I would be a state witness by investigators in 2020. I was investigated in 2021. The investigators threatened to charge me with the same charges as my colleagues if I did not cooperate with them.
“There is no evidence to show I have never co-operated with the investigators. They felt I had not provided them with the information they were looking for and decided to charge me with fraud, corruption and money laundering. The charges against me do not arise out of any facts but from a sense of punishment for not cooperating with investigators and prosecutors. I was not implicated in any wrongdoing in all the reports, including the Zondo Commission, public protector and auditor-general's report.”
Meanwhile, Cholota confirmed that she is not a flight risk as she left her passport in her home in the USA, and she will stay at her step-parents’ home if granted bail because her biological parents passed on.
“I have no passport. I was transported back to South Africa on emergency travel documents. My passport was left behind in Maryland, Baltimore and has not been on my person since my arrest on April 12. The only relative beyond South African borders I have is my 14-year-old son who I transported to Nigeria to live with his father. His father is making arrangements for my son's return to South Africa. “I will stand trial as I intend to prove my innocence. The facts will show I am not guilty. I intend to show the unconstitutional way the state has treated me,” she said.
Moroadi Cholota granted bail.
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