Johannesburg – Former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula failed to appear in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Friday as her corruption and money laundering trial was due to resume.
Mapisa-Nqakula was expected to return to the witness stand after her testimony was cut short earlier this week when she told the court she was unwell.
Her legal team told the court that she was still ill.
According to TimesLIVE, defence counsel Siyabulela Mapoma presented a medical certificate and asked for the matter to be postponed. The State did not oppose the application.
A warrant of arrest has been authourised for former National Assembly Speaker and Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula after she failed to appear in the Pretoria High Court this morning for her corruption and money laundering trial. https://t.co/gASqrCJPet pic.twitter.com/qAXHRfMXxX
— SABC News (@SABCNews) October 2, 2026
The court authorised a warrant for Mapisa-Nqakula’s arrest but held it over until her next scheduled appearance on 11 November.
The trial will continue from 11 to 20 November, with another sitting scheduled from 30 November to 4 December.
AfricanInsider previously reported that Mapisa-Nqakula’s testimony was interrupted on 29 September after she told the court she was too ill to continue.
“I am not well,” she told the court at the time.
She had been undergoing cross-examination by the State over her salary, travel and subsistence allowances and tax declarations. The State had presented tax records which indicated that her travel allowances had not been declared to SARS. Mapisa-Nqakula disputed responsibility for the omission and said the Department of Defence should account for how the payments were handled.
BREAKING NEWS 🚨
The Gauteng High Court has authorised a warrant of arrest for former Defence Minister and National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula after she failed to appear in court this morning, Friday for the continuation of her corruption and money-laundering… pic.twitter.com/0kwu5baun6
— MDN NEWS (@MDNnewss) October 2, 2026
Her latest absence is another interruption in a trial that has already been affected by health-related adjournments.
Mapisa-Nqakula faces 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering relating to allegations dating back to her time as defence minister between 2016 and 2019.
The State alleges that she solicited about R4.5 million in corrupt payments from defence contractor Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, with about R2.1 million allegedly paid in cash. Mapisa-Nqakula has pleaded not guilty and denied receiving corrupt payments.
The latest development means her cross-examination will only resume when she returns to court in November.
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Compiled by Glaan Sibuyi
