Court rules extradition of Magashule's ex-PA from US unlawful & unconstitutional

JOHANNESBURG - The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has suffered a massive blow in the Free State asbestos trial-within-a-trial after the court ruled that former Free State Premier Ace Magashule's ex-personal assistant Moroadi Cholota's extradition from the US was unlawful and unconstitutional.

Cholota filed a special plea to the court in April, putting the main trial on pause.

She claimed that State prosecutors and Hawks investigators in the matter based the extradition application on falsehoods, intentionally misleading US authorities in the effort to haul her back to South Africa.

During the trial-within-a-trial, Cholota's defence argued that the basis for the extradition application was that she had no intention of returning to South Africa to face the music, making her a flight risk.

State prosecutors also told US authorities that Cholota had links in Kenya.

During proceedings, Cholota's lawyers argued that her address in the US was known to officials – she responded to correspondence from South African officials and even met with Hawks investigators in the US on request.

Judge Phillip Loubser said that the State conceded to some of the falsehoods used to secure Cholota's extradition.

"I make the following order: the extradition of Ms Cholota from the United States to South Africa is found to have been done unlawfully for want of a valid request for her extradition by the South African executive."

Cholota left in tears of joy and relief, surrounded by family.