AKA murder suspects among dozens who could escape justice: NPA's extradition crisis
The National Prosecuting Authority wants s judges to pay attention to suspects based outside of the country.
Image: FILE
Fifty-nine of South Africa's most wanted criminal suspects—including the alleged killers of rapper AKA and suspects in billion-rand fraud cases—could potentially escape justice due to a legal loophole in extradition law.
In the case against ex-Free State premier Ace Magashule's personal assistant, Moroadi Cholota, the state alleges that Cholota refuses to give evidence against her boss out of duty or loyalty.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said that many seek to take advantage of the so-called Cholota strategy, including Oliver Cauro and Francis Perez who have sought leave to intervene in Constitutional Court proceedings.
After Cholota was granted a "get-out-of-jail-free card" in June, the NPA filed its application for leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court the following month. The prosecuting authority has since compiled a comprehensive summary of cases and suspects potentially affected by the legal precedent established in South African fugitive Johnathan Schultz's case.
Schultz is to face charges of theft and sale of unwrought precious metals dating back to 2019.
Even after excluding those whose extradition requests were resubmitted after the Schultz ruling, and those already surrendered to South Africa (like Cholota), 59 of the country's most wanted criminals could still exploit this legal precedent.
The criminals included the Ndimande brothers, Cauro and Perez, Shepard and Mary Bushiri, and Dylan Dean Taljaard.
"Cholota, whose extradition had already been finalised and who was facing charges in one of South Africa’s most high-profile State capture trials, walked free after raising a special plea based upon Schultz.
"Where one criminal suspect succeeds in overturning their criminal trial on the basis of Schultz, others follow.
"This has begun to occur with greater and greater frequency. Cauro and Perez seek to follow in the footsteps of Schultz and Cholota, as did Payne and as does Elia Makotoane (sought for the kidnap and murder of his wife)," read the interventions at the apex court.
"... One sees these fears made manifest. The respondent (Cholota) in that matter was facing criminal charges in one of the country’s most high-profile trials. She walked free because the extradition request which returned her to South Africa was, in light of Schultz, held to be unlawful," read the NPA's papers.
The Ndimande brothers are accused of killing rapper AKA (Kiernan Forbes) and his friend in Durban.
"If one includes persons in the position of Cholota, the list of priority suspects expands to include persons such as Michael Lomas, who was extradited from the UK to Eskom-related fraud charges amounting to R1.5 billion," the NPA told the apex court.
The matter will be heard during November.
loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za