Court rules Cholota’s extradition was unlawful

The Bloemfontein High Court has found that former Free State Premier Ace Magashule’s former personal assistant Moroadi Cholota’s extradition from the US was unlawful.

The court has just delivered judgment in the trial-within-a-trial of the R255-million asbestos roofing removal case.

In May, the state told the Free State High Court that Cholota failed to provide evidence of her claims that her extradition was unlawful.

The prosecution argued that Cholota failed to take the court into confidence that she was tortured and relied only on the state evidence brought forth by the two state witnesses.

The state further argued that the misrepresentation that Cholota had links in Kenya did not have any impact on the extradition process.

Both the state and the defence presented closing arguments in the trial-within-a-trial, challenging the court’s jurisdiction to try Cholota on the asbestos roof removal-related charges.

Livestream of the judgement: