By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Ministry of Defence & Military Veterans confirmed that corruption-accused former Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula had applied for state legal funding of her trial.
However, the request has led to tensions within the department.
Defence Minister Thandi Modise has been angered by officials who have set the ball rolling without consulting her first.
Mapisa-Nqakula was officially charged with 12 counts of corruption and money laundering earlier this month for receiving kickbacks related to tenders awarded by the department during her tenure as the Defence Minister.
Modise has rapped the Head of Legal Service in the South African National Defence Force, Major General Eric Mnisi, over the knuckles for actioning the request by Modise’s predecessor without approval.
Fullview understands Mnisi wrote a letter to the State Attorney’s office, without the knowledge of the Minister stating that they were going to pay Mapisa-Nqakula’s legal fees.
Modise’s spokesperson Amos Phago said while the minister applies her mind to Mapisa-Nqakula’s request she has ordered a probe into Mnisi’s conduct.
Phago said Mnisi’s actions were “tantamount to disrespect of executive authority in the Department of Defence”.
He said Modise is applying her mind on the request by Mapisa-Nqakula and will subject it to the prescripts of the law with the view of protecting public funds.
Mapisa-Nqakula is out on bail and is due to return to court on the 4th of June.
Meanwhile the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) admitted that they have shared a list of witnesses with the former speaker’s defence attorney, as prescribed by the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.
However, it remains unclear if the leaked list is an authenticated one as two of the witness have since denied that they were part of the witnesses that were expected to testify against Mapisa-Nqakula.
On the validity of the list, the ID spokesperson did not want to be drawn into whether the leaked list was legitimate, adding that everything would be revealed in court in due course.
This comes after a prominent legal practioner Zola Majavu had denied being a State witness in the case against the former speaker.
UDM leader General Bantu Holomisa, whose name also appeared on the list, confirmed that he was not approached by the prosecution to be a State witness.
The State witness list also included three former SANDF generals: Derrick Mgwebi, Noel Ndlhovu and Gerald Sizani Noel. Ndlhovu is the husband of the State star witness, Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndlhovu, who was offered section 204.