Magashule loses in court again

SUSPENDED ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule has lost his bid to appeal an earlier South Gauteng High Court judgment that dismissed his application to overturn his suspension.

The former Free State premier was challenging his suspension by the governing party in May after he was charged with fraud, corruption and money laundering relating to the R255 million project to audit houses with asbestos roofs in the province.

Magashule was suspended as part of the ANC’s step-aside resolution adopted at the party’s 2017 national conference targeting leaders who have been criminally charged.

The full bench of the South Gauteng High Court – judges Jody Kollapen, Sharise Weiner and Edwin Molahlehi – dismissed Magashule’s application for leave to appeal on Monday, with costs of three counsel.

“There is no prospect that another court would come to a different conclusion nor are there any compelling reasons why leave to appeal should be granted,” the judges said.

“It was unnecessary to traverse the myriad of allegations made by the applicant (Magashule) on the conduct of the NEC (the ANC’s national executive committee), NWC (national working committee) and the DSG (deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte) and the first respondent (party president Cyril Ramaphosa), which he raised in support of his decision to suspend the first respondent. It was clear that he had no authority to do so. This ground of appeal is also without merit”.

Soon after his suspension as part of the ANC’s step-aside rule, Magashule also purportedly suspended Ramaphosa for the bank statements suggesting that his campaign to become the governing party’s leader was handsomely supported through millions of rand.

In July, the high court dismissed Magashule’s challenge to his suspension, with costs.

– Political Bureau