‘They knew what they were doing’: Moroadi Cholota insists state misled US in unlawful extradition

Ace Magashule’s former personal assistant, Moroadi Cholota, at Bloemfontein High Court on 23 April 2025. Picture: Gallo Images/Mlungisi Louw The legality of Moroadi Cholota’s extradition has come under renewed scrutiny, with her legal team maintaining that South African authorities misled United States (US) officials to secure her return to face charges in the R255-million Free State asbestos corruption case. Cholota, a former personal assistant to ex-Free State premier Ace Magashule, was extradited in August 2024 following a request by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

It was later established that the NPA had no authority to initiate the extradition, according to a23 January 2026 rulingby the Constitutional Court (ConCourt). The ConCourt had concluded that the extradition was unlawful, but referred the matter back to the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein for further argument. The high court had previously dealt with Cholota’s special plea during a trial-within-a-trial, ultimately leading to her release after Judge Phillip Loubser ruled, in June 2025, that the court did not have jurisdiction to prosecute the case.

Arguing before the court on Tuesday, Cholota’s legal representative, Loyiso Makapela, highlighted the state’s own evidence contradicted its case. She referred to an affidavit by Hawks investigator and state witness Benjamin Calitz, in which he conceded that Cholota was charged after she declined to implicate Magashule in the asbestos scandal. “The state cannot call into question the evidence that was presented by its own witnesses without having to call those witnesses either unreliable or untruthful because both things cannot be true at the same time,” she told the court. Makapela argued that the state falsely portrayed Cholota as a fugitive in its communications with US authorities.