Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula: South Africa parliament speaker charged with 12 counts of corruption
- By Jenny Hill & Danai Nesta Kupemba
- BBC News, Johannesburg & London
Image supply, Getty Images
Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, 67, is a veteran of the anti-apartheid battle
South Africa’s ex-Speaker of Parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has been charged with 12 counts of corruption and one rely of cash laundering.
She made her first courtroom look after handing herself over to a police station on Thursday morning.
The politician is accused of soliciting bribes in return for awarding contracts throughout her time as defence minister.
She denied any wrongdoing in courtroom and stated: “I do not have a propensity to commit crime.”
But prosecutor Bheki Manyathi instructed Pretoria Magistrates’ Court there was “ample evidence” towards Ms Mapisa-Nqakula.
She has been launched on bail.
After weeks of investigations, Ms Mapisa-Nqakula resigned on Wednesday, however stated this wasn’t an “indication or admission of guilt”.
She stated given the “seriousness” of the probe she couldn’t proceed her position.
Last month a particular police unit raided her Johannesburg residence in connection with the corruption investigation.
The 67-year-old veteran of the African National Congress (ANC) social gathering grew to become speaker in 2021. Before that, she served as defence minister for seven years.
Last week, Ms Mapisa-Nqakula’s attorneys filed a request for a courtroom order to stop her arrest, saying it could infringe on her dignity.
On Tuesday, judges rejected her bid on the idea that the matter was not pressing they usually couldn’t speculate on an arrest that was but to occur.
Ms Mapisa-Nqakula is accused of making a number of calls for for cash, amounting to $120,000 (£96,000), from the proprietor of an organization to safe a young to move military gear again to South Africa from elsewhere on the continent, the Business Day newspaper stories.
This is the newest in a protracted line of corruption scandals to engulf the ANC.
What’s uncommon in regards to the case is the relative velocity with which Ms Mapisa-Nqakula resigned.
Her choice to face down is prone to have triggered aid in some ANC circles as she has relieved the social gathering of having to publicly defend her.
The ANC has formally recommended her choice, saying the social gathering valued her dedication to sustaining the picture of the organisation.
The case towards the previous speaker is at greatest embarrassing, at worst deeply damaging for the ANC.
Polls predict the social gathering faces a bruising election on the finish of May with some projections suggesting it may lose its majority for the primary time.
The ANC, which has been in energy since 1994, has confronted repeated allegations of corruption and mismanagement of public funds, which have develop into a key election problem.
