/file/attachments/orphans/Nonku-ConCourtcopy_514191.jpg "Court Shields NPA from U.S. in Coloata Case")
LAWFAIL: Top Court Exposes Giant Legal Loophole – But Lets Politically-Connected Suspects Slide Anyway
South Africa’s Constitutional Court just ripped the mask off a critical flaw in our justice system that has existed FOR SIXTY YEARS. In a bombshell ruling, the court confirmed the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has been acting BEYOND its powers for DECADES, making extradition requests it had NO RIGHT to make.
Yet, in the same breath, the court refused to let this colossal error derail the prosecution of Ace Magashule’s former aide, Moroadi Cholota. She was brought back in handcuffs from the U.S. in 2024 over the R255-million asbestos scandal. (Photo shows Cholota at her Bloemfontein bail hearing in August 2024.)
The court found her extradition was, technically, UNLAWFUL. The power to ask another country for a suspect lies with the national executive, not prosecutors. But the judges ruled this MISTAKE doesn’t mean she walks free. They decided prosecutors acted “in good faith,” so the trial should go on. The game continues, even though the rules were broken.
But WHO does this serve? The NPA welcomes the ruling, saying they’ll now “focus” on Cholota’s case. But the court was scathing about the NPA’s handling of a related case, ordering them to pay costs and dismissing their appeal as lazy and unconvincing.
The real bombshell? The Supreme Court of Appeal’s earlier “Schultz judgment” stands. That ruling said EVERY SINGLE extradition request made by the NPA in over 60 years was potentially invalid. The NPA warned this could bring the system to its knees, with criminals flooding courts to challenge their arrests. The Constitutional Court shrugged, saying the risks were “overstated.”
So the system is BROKEN, the authority was ILLEGAL, but the politically charged prosecutions are PROTECTED. The powerful breathe a sigh of relief. The precedent is set: break the rules, but as long as you meant well, justice can be bent.
The question remains: how many other cases were built on this rotten foundation? The court has just admitted our justice system has been operating on a lie for longer than most of us have been alive. And they’re asking us to just trust them.
One law for the connected, another set of broken rules for everyone else.
Author: Kayitsi.com
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