Ace Magashule to appear in court on Friday - Hawks

Johannesburg –An arrest warrant has been issued for the secretary general of the ANC, Ace Magashule, a provincial spokeswoman for the country's elite police unit the Hawks said on Tuesday.

"He hasn't been arrested as yet but the warrant has been signed... on charges of corruption in the asbestos case," said Lynda Steyn, spokeswoman for the Hawks in the Free State, where the case took place.

The warrant is related to the R255 million Free State asbestos case which businessman Edwin Sodi and a number of other prominent figures have been charged.

Magashule, who is in charge of the day-to-day running of the ANC, told reporters he was "not worried" and that he had done nothing wrong.

"If it happens, it will happen, so I'm not worried at all," he said in footage broadcast by eNCA television. "I haven't done anything wrong as a law-abiding citizen."

Last month Magashule, in a late night conversation with The Star’s editor Sifiso Mahlangu, said that he was aware of an arrest warrant being issued for him.

At the time Magashule indicated that he thought the warrant was related to the ill-fated Gupta linked Vrede dairy project.

The ANC has yet to comment on the arrest of one of its most senior members. President Cyril Ramaphosa has made rooting out government corruption his mission during his presidency, so the arrest is sure to be a blow.

Reuters and IOL