Cape Town — The former National Assembly speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, said her legal challenges only started once she convened an inquiry into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala saga.
Mapisa-Nqakula faces corruption charges for a R2.3 million tender that she allegedly received from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) during her time as Minister of Defence between November 2016 and July 2019.
Since the allegations surfaced against her, she has subsequently been arrested and resigned as National Assembly speaker as she attempts to have the charges against her dropped.
According to EWN, Mapisa-Nqakula said she made political enemies when she chose to convene a parliamentary inquiry into the Phala Phala matter.
“When I made this choice, I did so without fear or favour and followed the rule of law. I opted for a public vote on matters concerning the sitting President, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa,” she said,
During her tenure as National Assembly Speaker, she established the Section 89 panel to look into Ramaphosa’s behaviour concerning the break-in at his Phala Phala farm. The panel found that he committed four violations and misconduct relating to his term as state president.
Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, the former National Assembly Speaker, claims her R4.5 million corruption charges are politically motivated, stemming from her decision to investigate President Cyril Ramaphosa’s involvement in the Phala Phala scandal. https://t.co/XbatcBE4cU
— THE TRUTH PANTHER (@TheTruthPanther) November 25, 2024
In Mapisa-Nqakula’s recently filed court application, she wants access to sections A, B and C of the police docket against her. Mapisa-Nqakula said in her application, that Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu was initially investigated by the military for corruption before her matter was “suddenly abandoned” and she was turned into a state witness.
She requested that the Military Police docket against Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu and related material to her case. She requests informer dockets from the state. She said her application is based on the belief the state is prosecuting her on “highly suspicious and tenuous evidence.”
“I accordingly request if this court to intervene and restore the balance, by equalizing the obvious asymmetry of information caused by the clear obfuscation of the process by which the State has gathered – or indeed manufactured – evidence against me,” said Mapisa-Nqakula in her court affidavit.
She added that she feels she is being prosecuted through trial by the media, and many details of her case were linked to the media before her legal team was aware of it. She also alleges the state made “disclosures” to the media.
“The decision to make disclosures to the press and the availability of this second statement are issues which will more than likely have been dealt with in the “B” and “C” sections of the docket,” she said.
ALSO READ | WATCH LIVE | Mapisa-Nqakula back in court over fraud and corruption allegations
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) dropped charges against Ramaphosa linked to his Phala Phala saga, saying an investigation by the Hawks delcared that Ramaphosa would no longer be prosecuted.
“She concluded that there is no reasonable prospect of a successful prosecution based on evidence contained in the docket,” the NPA said.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: X/@Am_Blujay
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Matthew Petersen
