By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has dismissed former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s application for a discharge under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
Mapisa-Nqakula faces 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering. She has denied the charges.
The defence’s application rested heavily on what it described as weaknesses and contradictions in the State’s case, particularly the evidence of Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, the State’s key witness.
Prosecutor Emile van der Merwe argued that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence for Mapisa-Nqakula to be called upon to give her defence.
The State acknowledged that there were inconsistencies in some of the evidence, but argued that these should not be considered in isolation.
“The State takes cognisance of certain inconsistencies between the evidence of witnesses, “Van der Merwe said.
Delivering judgment, Judge Mashudu Munzhelele found the State had presented enough evidence to establish a prima facie case against Mapisa-Nqakula.
Munzhelele said the evidence, when considered as a whole, supported an inference that Mapisa-Nqakula knew the alleged payments constituted gratification and were connected to her official position, influence and ability to act.
“In my view, the evidence, considered cumulatively, constitutes a prima facie case… The requisite intention is properly inferred from the surrounding circumstances and the accused’s conduct.”
The judge said the State had therefore presented sufficient evidence for Mapisa-Nqakula to be called upon to answer the charges.
“The State has, therefore, established a prima facie case on the element of intention, sufficient to require the accused to answer,” Munzhelele said.
“It would, consequently, be inappropriate to discharge the applicant in terms of section 174 on the basis that the State did not produce direct evidence of subjective intention.”
With the section 174 application dismissed, Mapisa-Nqakula must now present her defence to all the charges and the trial continues.
Mapisa-Nqakula has confirmed she does in fact know the key state witness in her corruption trial. She has taken the court through the circumstances under which she was first introduced to Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu.
She told the court that, in 2016, an official in her office approached her and informed her Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu was planning to approach the media to expose what she believed were problems within the Defence department.
This followed the cancellation of a more than R100-million defence logistics tender involving her company. She testified that she then authorised the official to share her cell-phone number with Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu so that the two could communicate directly.
She said Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu subsequently called her, crying, and explained her concerns. Mapisa-Nqakula told the court that she felt sympathetic towards her because she believed a woman was potentially being mistreated by the department.
Mapisa-Nqakula added she therefore decided to escalate the complaint to senior officials responsible for the day-to-day administration and operations of the Defence Force. She maintained that her interaction with Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu at that stage was related to addressing her complaint and did not involve any corrupt conduct.
Mapisa-Nqakula resigned as National Assembly speaker and as a Member of Parliament in April 2024, and handed herself over to police at Lyttelton police station in the same month.
Her resignation and surrender to police followed the Pretoria High Court’s dismissal of her application to block her arrest over the corruption allegations in March 2024.