Free State premier Ace Magashule‘s driver was found guilty of four charges pertaining to the theft of a Pierneef painting, worth R8 million, that belonged to the state, in the Free State High Court on Thursday morning.
A local publication reported that Judge Soma Naidoo as saying she was satisfied that state prosecutor, Antoinette Ferreira, had proven the state’s case against Ricardo Mettler beyond reasonable doubt. Soma found Mettler guilty on four charges of theft, fraud, money laundering, and perjury, pertaining to an affidavit he made about obtaining the multimillion-rand piece of art.
Mettler’s initial statement read that he was gifted this valuable piece by Magashule during his move to his new position of ANC secretary-general.
Mettler was charged and ordered to appear in court in 2019, after the painting was seized by the Hawks. It’s alleged that he stole the painting with the intention of selling it to Bloemfontein businessman, Wei-Lin Hsu, for over R2 million.
Magashule had testified in court that when he was vacating the Premier’s office, he gave various personal items to different people, including Mettler. He also testified that he did not even know if Pierneef was a painting or an actual person.
The state had called a total of 14 witnesses, including Magashule’s former personal assistant Moroadi Cholota.
Soma found Mettler not guilty on count five – contravening Section 32(13) of the National Heritage Resources Act.
-The Citizen
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