South African ANC’s Magashule Wants State To Clarify If He Faces Arrest

(Bloomberg) -- One of the highest ranking officials in South Africa's ruling party asked the state prosecutor to respond to speculation that he faces arrest.

IOL, a Johannesburg-based news website, reported late Tuesday that a warrant of arrest has been issued for Ace Magashule, the secretary-general of the African National Congress. Hangwani Mulaudzi, a spokesman for the police's Hawks investigative unit, said the report was false.

Magashule asked his legal team “to write to the National Prosecuting Authority to establish the authenticity of this rumor of an imminent arrest,” ANC spokesman Pule Mabe told state television on Tuesday. “Once the ANC has gathered and established all of the facts, the organization will be able to pronounce itself fully.”

The IOL report comes after South African authorities last week began a crackdown on corruption that became endemic under former President Jacob Zuma's rule. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who replaced Zuma in 2018, has said more than 500 billion rand ($30 billion) was stolen from state coffers during his predecessor's tenure. No senior officials have been successfully prosecuted so far.

At least seven people were arrested last week on allegations they were linked to the theft of more than 200 million rand from a state housing department in Free State province.

The Free State has long been a nexus of corruption and political power within the ANC. Magashule, who currently oversees the day-to-day running of the party, is a former premier of the region and is Ramaphosa's biggest political rival.

A call to Magashule's mobile went to voicemail and he didn't respond to a text message when Bloomberg sought comment. NPA spokeswoman Bulelwa Makeke didn't respond to a request for comment.

“We do not know if these institutions are investigating our client,” Victor Nkhwashu, Magashule's lawyer, said in an interview on Radio 702 on Wednesday. “It would have been strange for IOL to have had that warrant of arrest and it's also suspect that IOL has such knowledge of such a warrant of arrest, which on its own taints the process if it does exist.”

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