The Constitutional Court has dismissed the application for leave to appeal the conviction and sentence against former Northern Cape ANC chairperson John Block and businessman Christo Scholtz. The two were convicted and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for corruption and money laundering by the Kimberley High Court in 2016.
The case related to Multimillion-Rand property tenders awarded by Northern Cape government departments. The Constitutional court found that there were no reasonable prospects for Block and Scholtz’s application to succeed.
The Constitutional court has dismissed former Northern Cape’s ANC chairperson John Block’s leave to appeal his 15 year jail sentence. Block and businessman Christo Scholtz were sentenced by the Kimberley high court in 2016 for money laundering and corruption. #SABCNews
— Puleng Modupe (@pulengmodupe) November 19, 2018
The provincial ANC says it is saddened by the news. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Phaladi Shuping, says a detention order will be issued for the two to hand themselves over to correctional services within the next week.
“From our side as the NPA we are satisfied with the decision of the ConCourt because from the onset we were of the view that there’s no court that would come to a different conclusion. All the reasons that they provided in their application to the Supreme Court to the constitutional court were dealt with in the northern cape high court.”
