The Free State High Court on Wednesday is set to deliberate over an application brought forward by former (FS) Premier Ace Magashule’s driver, Ricardo Mettler, in a bid to overturn his conviction and sentencing.
Mettler is applying for leave to appeal his 15-year jail sentence for the theft of an R8 million Pierneef painting.
His legal representative, Advocate Hannes Peyper, has confirmed this.
Last month, Mettler filed papers to appeal his sentence and conviction after Judge Soma Naidoo found him guilty in 2020 on counts of theft, fraud, money laundering, and perjury and accordingly sentenced him in March 2021.
Judge Naidoo handed Mettler an effective 15-year prison sentence for theft, 15 years for money laundering and 15 years for fraud.
Mettler was sentenced to an additional 12-months in prison for making false statements to the police as he told them that Magashule gave him the painting as a gift.
Counts two and four are running concurrently.
It's been said that Mettler stole the painting to sell it to a Bloemfontein businessman, Wei-Lin Hsu, or use it as a guarantee for a loan of more than R2 million.
Following Hsu's testimony in court, he was exempted from prosecution.
Judge Naidoo ruled that Mettler, as the bodyguard of the former Free State premier, used his position of power and trust to steal the Pierneef painting and this had damaged the image of the premier's office.
She said his actions created an impression that people in power could simply help themselves to state resources.
Mettler stole the painting in March 2018 while helping to vacate the offices of Premier Magashule. He removed the barcode and covered it with brown paper before offering it to a businessman for a loan of between R2 million and R3 Million.
He placed the painting in the newspapers to see if anyone would claim it.
The painting has since been returned to the Office of the Premier.
