Constitutional Court rules Bloemfontein court may try Moroadi Cholota, even after flawed extradition

The State’s corruption case against Moroadi Cholota has been sent back to Free State high court after the Constitutional Court ruled that the Bloemfontein High Court does have the jurisdiction to try her, even though South African officials botched aspects of her extradition from the United States.

In a judgment handed down on Friday, the apex court delivered a split outcome that affirmed both Cholota’s complaint about how she was brought back to the country and the National Prosecuting Authority’s argument that an irregular extradition alone does not deprive a court of jurisdiction.

While the apex court agreed that the State had not followed the proper procedure when securing her return from the US, it found that this defect was not enough to halt her prosecution altogether.

The ruling overturns a 2025 decision of the Free State High Court, which had declared that it could not hear Cholota’s case because the NPA — rather than the responsible executive authority — initiated the extradition request.

The Constitutional Court held that this approach was too rigid, saying courts must consider the broader interests of justice when assessing whether an accused may be prosecuted despite defects in their return to South Africa.

Cholota, who was once lined up as a witness before being charged as a co-accused, faces fraud, corruption and money-laundering counts linked to the R255 million Free State asbestos tender awarded during Ace Magashule’s tenure as premier.

Her extradition from the United States in 2024 triggered a series of legal challenges that stalled the already-delayed asbestos corruption trial involving Magashule and several other accused.

With the jurisdiction question now settled, the matter will return to the Bloemfontein High Court for the criminal proceedings to continue.

The NPA has welcomed the judgment as a boost for its efforts to prevent corruption suspects from escaping trial due to procedural missteps.

"Of importance is the fact that there is finality on this very important issue. Obviously, the Cholota one still needs to be remitted to the court, to hear the rest of the grounds for the special appeal, which is a matter that the prosecutors will have to reflect on and prepare for. As you have heard here that judge was blamed for not allowing the state to have the matter prosecuted, and heard, based on the fact that extradition had been declared unlawful," national spokesperson of the National Prosecuting Authority, Advocate Mthunzi Mhaga told Newzroom Afrika.

The latest development is expected to accelerate progress in the asbestos case, which has repeatedly been pushed back while the state awaited the Constitutional Court’s guidance on the Cholota issue.

jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za

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