Overview
- Deputy Chief Justice Dunstan Mlambo held that the National Prosecuting Authority may prepare extradition materials domestically but only the Minister of Justice can make requests to foreign states.
- The court affirmed that Moroadi Cholota’s 2024 return from the United States was unlawful because the NPA, not the national executive, authorised the request.
- Not every defect in extradition bars prosecution, and the Bloemfontein High Court need not decline criminal jurisdiction solely due to the authorisation error.
- The State’s right to be heard was infringed when the extradition unlawfulness argument was raised for the first time during a closing address, and direct leave to appeal was granted.
- The matter, part of the R255 million Free State asbestos case involving Ace Magashule, now goes back to the High Court for further proceedings under the clarified framework.