Share

Audit report: Ace's son, ex-PA and her cousin got Free State-funded bursaries to study in US

accreditation
Share your Subscriber Article
You have 5 articles to share every month. Send this story to a friend!
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
loading...
Loading, please wait...
0:00
play article
Subscribers can listen to this article
Former Free State Premier Ace Magashule appeared in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein on 15 April 2024. The suspects face charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering, and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act relating to the  R255m asbestos case. (Gallo Images/Volksblad/Mlungisi Louw)
Former Free State Premier Ace Magashule appeared in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein on 15 April 2024. The suspects face charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering, and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act relating to the R255m asbestos case. (Gallo Images/Volksblad/Mlungisi Louw)

In Ace Magashule's last days as Free State premier, one of his sons – and his corruption-accused PA's cousin – were inexplicably given multimillion-rand Free State government bursaries to study at a US university, a draft forensic report has revealed.

And, just days after Magashule's former PA Moroadi Cholota sought to downplay any suggestion that his office was improperly seeking funding from the province's alleged asbestos scam service providers at the state capture inquiry in December 2019, that report also records that her own R1.2 million bursary to study in the US was signed off by the Free State government. 

The report, which was compiled by FTI Consulting for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), was one of several documents submitted by the NPA to the United States government, as part of its attempt to extradite Cholota to South Africa to face trial for fraud and corruption in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein.

Read this for free
South Africans need to be in the know if we want to create a prosperous future. News24 has kept the country informed for 25 years, and we're about to enter a new chapter of fearless journalism. Join our free subscription trial to unlock this story and a world of news aimed to inform, empower, and inspire.
Try our free 14-day trial
Already a subscriber? Sign in
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Are you aware that there will be three ballots for the general elections this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes - and I know how each ballot works
51% - 634 votes
I had no idea - let me read up on it
14% - 177 votes
I am somewhat aware, but I'm not 100% confident on what each one is for
35% - 444 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.16
+0.0%
Rand - Pound
23.08
-0.6%
Rand - Euro
19.72
-0.4%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.11
-0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.12
-0.1%
Platinum
1,052.35
-3.9%
Palladium
1,028.00
+1.6%
Gold
2,425.02
+0.5%
Silver
31.68
+0.6%
Brent Crude
83.98
+0.9%
Top 40
73,734
+0.7%
All Share
80,073
+0.7%
Resource 10
64,750
+1.8%
Industrial 25
110,656
+0.1%
Financial 15
17,320
+0.8%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE