Former African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Ace Magashule said he is still an ANC member but that people have approached him about forming his own party. Only time will tell, though, he said.

Addressing the media ahead of his fraud and corruption case in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein, which was postponed to 2024, Magashule said that while he was an ANC member, the door remained open for him to pursue other political avenues. 

"I don't know if I will form another party. Time will tell, but for now, I am still a member of the ANC. The people of South Africa have approached me. It's many people from across the country who have approached me. It's not only people from KZN but all over South Africa. I spend a lot of time in Gauteng, the Free State and KZN, the North West and the Northern Cape, doing community service," he added.

Magashule also said that he had much to offer politically, and that his decision would not be motivated by a love for positions but by how his skillset could be utilised best.

The ANC suspended Magashule in May 2021 after he refused to step aside voluntarily after his arrest in the asbestos case against him.

Magashule is accused of involvement in a corrupt R255-million asbestos tender scheme that allegedly saw multiple high-ranking Free State government officials receive kickbacks from money that was meant to fund the removal of harmful asbestos from the homes of the province's poorest residents.

Instead of the affected houses being safely rid of asbestos at a reasonable price, the State alleges that businessman Edwin Sodi and his co-accused essentially embarked on a "rent-seeking" scheme that ultimately resulted in only R21-million worth of work being done. 

At the time of his suspension from the ANC, he sent a letter suspending President Cyril Ramaphosa from the party "for buying the 2017" conference. But, at the time, the party said there was no decision to suspend the president and accused Magashule of acting without a mandate. 

The former secretary-general appears to have lost political support since then. The large crowd of people who used to accompany him to court was absent on Friday. Even Carl Niehaus, who has always been by his side, was a no-show.

The case was postponed to 15 April 2024.

The case was postponed numerous times, pending an application some of the accused had taken to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).

Magashule, Sodi and former human settlements head Thabani Zulu allege that their right to a fair trial had been infringed. 

The SCA has, however, dismissed an application for leave to appeal by Magashule and others in their challenge to a High Court judgment which dismissed their application to have charges against them dropped. 

The application was dismissed on the basis that they had "no reasonable prospects of success…and there is no compelling reason why an appeal should be heard". 

Speaking to the media before the case, Magashule said he was prepared to make his case and was beginning to feel disheartened by the constant delays.

He said the delays were a sign that the National Prosecuting Authority had no case against him.