Cape Town – Former National Assembly Speaker and Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has faced further questioning in the Pretoria High Court over an alleged R250,000 cash payment she supposedly received from defence contractor Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu.
Prosecutors focused on an alleged gift bag handed to Mapisa-Nqakula during a defence force spousal forum in August 2018.
The State alleges that the bag, handed to Mapisa-Nqakula in a holding room, contained R250,000 in cash. It further claims the payment was requested using the code word “padkos” because Mapisa-Nqakula was due to travel to Port Elizabeth the following morning.
Mapisa-Nqakula disputes the allegation, saying the only gift she received at the event was presented publicly on the podium by programme directors, where she was the guest of honour. Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu was one of the programme directors.
The former minister is facing 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering arising from allegations that she solicited about R4.5 million from Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, with prosecutors alleging that about R2.1 million was paid in cash. She has pleaded not guilty and denies receiving money from the contractor. The National Prosecuting Authority previously confirmed the charges and the alleged amounts.
Conflicting accounts over alleged cash payments
The latest evidence follows earlier testimony from Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu that she allegedly delivered R200,000 in cash to Mapisa-Nqakula’s Bruma home in July 2017 after surviving an armed robbery in Spruitview.
The contractor testified that she was driven to the former minister’s home by her husband, retired Major-General Noel Ndhlovu, and entered the house carrying the money. Mapisa-Nqakula has denied receiving the cash and disputed the timing of the meeting.
Speaking during cross-examination, Mapisa-Nqakula said: “What Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu told the court is her version and not mine.”
She also rejected the suggestion that she would have ignored Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu’s injuries after the alleged robbery.
‘I have ubuntu’
“I do have ubuntu. I would never be in a situation where someone tells me they were robbed and I just look at them and ask for money without caring about what happened,” she told the court.
Mapisa-Nqakula denied ever soliciting or receiving money from Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, saying: “There is absolutely nothing I discussed with Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu pertaining to money.”
The State, meanwhile, has questioned why Mapisa-Nqakula held private meetings with Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu despite her being a defence contractor, while the former minister maintains that their relationship was personal and linked partly to their shared traditional-healing beliefs.
The allegations remain before the court and have not been proved. Mapisa-Nqakula’s defence is expected to continue challenging the State’s version of events as the trial proceeds.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
