Ace Magashule

Ace Magashule (born Elias Sekgobelo Magashule) served as Premier of the Free State from 2009 to 2018, building one of the most complete provincial patronage networks in South Africa during that period. In December 2017 he was elected Secretary-General of the ANC at the Nasrec conference — the same conference where Cyril Ramaphosa narrowly defeated Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for the ANC presidency. Magashule was the Jacob Zuma faction’s key placement in the SG seat, and for three years occupied a position from which he could frustrate Ramaphosa’s reform agenda from within the party’s administrative centre.

The asbestos tender: In 2014, the Free State Department of Human Settlements under Magashule’s premiership awarded a R255m contract to a joint venture between businessman Edwin Sodi’s Blackhead Consulting and Diamond Hill Trading to identify and remove asbestos roofing from houses across the province. The state’s case, laid out in the Free State High Court when the trial commenced in April 2025, is that the contract was a systematic fraud: “This tender was a thieves’ picnic.” Magashule allegedly received R10m shortly after Sodi’s company received its first tranche of R230m. Additional alleged gratifications flowed via murdered businessman Igo Mpambani (killed 2017, separate case), facilitated through email requests from Magashule’s personal assistant Moroadi Cholota — for school fees paid for the daughter of Refiloe Mokoena, electronic tablets, and R250,000 for a delegation trip to Cuba.

The Mokoena connection is significant: Refiloe Mokoena is described in court records as a “Gupta ally”, establishing a direct link between the Free State asbestos scheme and the Gupta Family network. This was not the only Gupta-linked project running under Magashule’s government: the Estina dairy project in Vrede — a R280m Gupta-linked scheme — ran concurrently under his premiership. Magashule’s Free State was, in effect, a laboratory for both provincial patronage networks and Gupta pipeline access.

Political collapse and trial: Magashule was arrested in November 2020. The ANC suspended him in April 2021 under its “step-aside” rule for members facing corruption charges and expelled him in May 2023. He formed the African Congress for Transformation (ACT). Eighteen accused, including five companies, are before the court. After four years of procedural delays — including an attempted application for seven declaratory orders from the court — a judge put his foot down and the trial commenced in April 2025. His former PA Moroadi Cholota, who had fled to the United States, was extradited in August 2024 but challenged the extradition’s legality. The Constitutional Court ruled in January 2026 that the NPA lacked authority to initiate the extradition (the executive holds that power), but upheld the high court’s criminal jurisdiction; Cholota was ordered to stand trial in February 2026. As of April 2026, the trial is ongoing with no judgment date set.

Connections

• Jacob Zuma — Zuma faction’s ANC SG placement at Nasrec 2017; loyalist through Zuma’s fall and state capture era
• Gupta Family — alleged gratifications included benefit to Gupta ally Refiloe Mokoena; Magashule’s Free State government also facilitated the Estina/Vrede dairy Gupta pipeline (Mosebenzi Zwane, below)
• Mosebenzi Zwane — parallel Gupta-linked Free State scheme during Magashule’s premiership
• National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) — charged October 2020; NPA’s unlawful extradition of Cholota led to ConCourt ruling January 2026
• Cyril Ramaphosa — Magashule occupied ANC SG as Ramaphosa’s internal opponent 2017–2021; Ramaphosa signed “step-aside” rule that triggered Magashule’s suspension; Magashule was the CR17 leaks chief suspect
• ANC (African National Congress) — expelled May 2023; ANC step-aside rule tested against him
• Zondo Commission — Free State Estina dairy scheme and provincial capture formed part of Zondo’s evidence; Magashule’s name features in Vol 4 evidence

Sources

• Business Day: Ace Magashule paid R10m after R255m asbestos tender award (April 2025)
• Daily Maverick: Magashule’s R255m case “bears hallmarks of corruption” (2021)
• The Citizen: Judge insists R255m asbestos trial must proceed (2025)
• The Citizen: Moroadi Cholota to stand trial after court rules it has jurisdiction (February 2026)
• Daily Maverick: Court orders Cholota to stand trial with Magashule (February 2026)