Mail & Guardian has reported today that Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, the speaker of the National Assembly, is anticipated to face charges of corruption and money laundering exceeding R4 million following her imminent arrest, scheduled for Friday.
According to Mail & Guardian, multiple senior investigators and a government official have disclosed that during her nine-year tenure as the defence and military veterans minister, Mapisa-Nqakula purportedly sought and received “gratification” from a businessman.
Sources intimately connected to the investigation revealed that plans for the speaker’s apprehension were set into motion approximately three weeks ago, coinciding with her participation in the 2024 Women Speakers’ Summit held on 6 and 7 March in Paris, France.
A high-ranking government official has affirmed that her arrest is slated for Friday. Additionally, it was noted by the official that had it not been a public holiday, Mapisa-Nqakula would have been detained on Thursday.
On Tuesday, the Hawks, representing the NPA’s Investigative Directorate, conducted an early morning raid on parliamentary speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s Johannesburg home on Tuesday, according to a report in Business Day.
Allegations suggest she received and solicited over R2.3m from a former military contractor during her time as defence minister.
Mapisa-Nqakula was reportedly present during the raid at her residence on Adolph Goertz Street, Bruma.
The operation concluded around 11 am with the seizure of certain items.
The speaker had returned from official visits to Paris and New York last week.
The allegations were first published by the Sunday Times regarding the purported acceptance of cash bribes by Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula during her tenure as the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans.
She has been accused of soliciting more than R2 million in cash bribes from Nombasa Ndhlovu, who was at the time working in the military logistics industry and married to a general in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
The Sunday Times reported that Ndhlovu allegedly made ten payments to Mapisa-Nqakula while she was Minister of Defence, totalling R2.3 million between November 2016 and July 2019. In an affidavit, Ndhlovu said Mapisa-Nqakula made several demands for cash, initially through the late secretary of defence Dr Sam Gulube and then directly.
