Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula denies corruption and illicit payments in court

Former South African National Assembly Speaker and Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is facing cross-examination in the Pretoria High Court regarding 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering. During the proceedings, Mapisa-Nqakula denied allegations from military contractor Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu that she requested and received an illicit R250,000 cash payment in 2018 using the code word “padkos”.

Prosecutors also challenged Mapisa-Nqakula’s testimony concerning Major-General Noel Ndhlovu, the husband of Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu. Mapisa-Nqakula had previously testified that Ndhlovu was not appointed Surgeon-General of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) due to investigations into fraudulent overtime claims and “mutinous” conduct.

However, the state presented a letter written by Ndhlovu addressing these allegations, which Mapisa-Nqakula claimed she had never personally read, despite having used the contents of the matter to explain his non-appointment. She maintained that the documentation regarding military doctors fell under the responsibility of Human Resources and the Military Health Service.