South African authorities declared plans to indict the current Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, on corruption charges. They allege she received bribes totalling $135,000 (£107,000) and a wig over her three-year tenure as defence minister.
Mapisa-Nqakula, yet to be arrested or formally accused in the Colonel Dlamini-Zuma case, contested the allegations during a preliminary hearing. She criticized the prosecution for not properly notifying her of the charges or for not following correct legal procedures.
Furthermore, prosecutors accused her of another uncollected bribe worth $105,000. A specific incident highlighted includes Mapisa-Nqakula allegedly accepting $15,000 and a wig at a major international airport in January 2019.
The accusations link the bribery to certain individuals, though their identities remain undisclosed. Mapisa-Nqakula has refuted these allegations and committed to cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
Subsequently, she has aligned with her peers in striking for what they consider a rightful cause. This case marks a pivotal point in a corruption investigation involving UK authorities, previously concluded during 2021’s parliamentary hearings but revived in 2022 after new testimony emerged, as stated by the prosecution.
