Magashule ally guilty for theft of Pierneef painting, sentencing postponed

The Bloemfontein High Court on Thursday found ANC Secretary-General (SG), Ace Magashule’s former driver, bodyguard, and ally, 43-year-old Ricardo Mettler guilty of stealing an R8 million painting by Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef. Bloemfontein High Court Judge, Soma Naidoo postponed the 43-year old’s sentencing to Thursday, 15 December 2020 for a social worker’s report into Mettler being the primary caregiver to a next of kin.

Mettler, who was present at the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court for Magashule’s first court appearance in connection with the asbestos project saga, has been found guilty of theft, fraud, money laundering and perjury. He was however, found not guilty of contravening the National Heritage Act.

METTLER CLAIMS HE WAS GIFTED THE PAINTING BY MAGASHULE

It was the Daily Maverick’s Pieter-Louis Myburgh who first revealed in 2018 that the disappearance of the painting from the Free State government’s headquarters in Bloemfontein was the subject of a criminal investigation, after Mettler tried to sell it to a local businessman, who went to have the piece evaluated at Gauteng-based Strauss and Co, unknowingly causing alarm. It was Strauss and Co that found the situation to be suspicious, determining that it was stolen and alerting the authorities.

READ: Alleged thief of Pierneef painting from Ace Magashule’s office back in court

The painting is the work of South African landscape master JH Pierneef, who was listed among three of South Africa’s highest selling artists with his paintings selling for between R3-25 million.

Mettler has always maintained that he received the painting with a price tag of R8 million as a gift from his former boss, Magashule. The embattled ANC Secretary-General was called in as a witness on the case and testified that when he left the Premier’s office at the end of his tenure in 2018, he gifted different items to some of his former employees at the time – Mettler was one of these. Magashule has pleaded ignorance on the matter, saying he did not know much about the painting at the time of the incident.

PUBLIC PRESSURE FOR MAGASHULE TO STEP DOWN

Public pressure continues to mount for Magashule to step down as he faces 21 counts of corruption, money laundering and fraud in connection to the R255 million Free State asbestos housing audit deal.

President Cyril Ramaphosa this week announced that Magashule has agreed to appear before the ANC’s integrity commission on Saturday to plead his case before the party’s elders. Ramaphosa will also make an appearance.

The former Free State Premier handed himself over to the Hawks in mid-November, and appeared before the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court where he was released out on bail of R200 000 regarding the 2013/14 asebstos deal.

His co-accused in the case include: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Johannesburg company Blackhead Consulting, Edwin Sodi, was granted bail of R500 000. Whilst the others – former head of the Free State Human Settlements Department Nthimotse Mokhesi; businessman Sello Radebe; the former Director-General (DG) of the National Human Settlements Department Thabane Zulu; and former Mangaung Metro Mayor Olly Mlamleli amongst others.

That case has been postponed to February of 2021.