By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The former National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s corruption trial resumed in the High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday, 22 July 2026.
Mapisa-Nqakula pleaded not guilty to 12 charges of corruption and one of money laundering.
The State alleges that she solicited R4.5-million in bribes from a contractor during her time as Defence Minister.
The case was initiated after United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader and current Deputy Defence Minister Bantu Holomisa filed a criminal complaint.
Following her arrest in April 2024, Mapisa-Nqakula stepped down from her role in Parliament.
During the proceedings, the court heard that Mapisa-Nqakula made certain admissions in terms of Section 220 of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA).
She acknowledged that construction and upgrades had been carried out at her home while she was serving as minister.
However, she denied any wrongdoing, specifically rejecting claims that she solicited or accepted bribes from SANDF contractor Umkhombe Marine director, Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu.
After the not guilty plea, Advocate Paul Louw presented the state’s case, outlining the flow of payments through a detailed PowerPoint presentation.
According to Louw, Mapisa-Nqakula made 12 separate cash requests after contracts were awarded to Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu’s company, Umkhombe Marine, which provided logistical services to the SANDF.
The court heard that these requests resulted in payments totalling R2.15 million. A further R2.4 million in requested payments was never fulfilled.
The prosecution detailed the timeline of contracts awarded to Umkhombe Marine, beginning with a R1.5 million tender in 2013, a year after the company was established.
This was followed by a R24 million contract in 2016 and a third valued at R79 million in the same year.
“This tender, however, shortly after it was allocated to Umkhombe was withdrawn and replaced with the one that does appear on the timeline, which is the third tender of R79 million,” Louw said.
The state argued that the awarding of the third contract coincided with the first alleged request for payment.
The court heard that Mapisa-Nqakula requested R300 000 shortly after the third tender was awarded, followed by another request of R400 000 in the same period.
Additional requests included R200 000 in July 2017 and R150 000 in November 2017, followed by R250 000 in August 2018.
During this period, Umkhombe Marine was awarded its fourth and final contract, valued at R105 million, in November 2018.
Holomisa was the first witness to take the stand when the trial began.
He told the court that he was shocked by the response when he, for the first time, wrote to the standing committee, alerting them to the allegations. Their only response to him at that time was questioning him on who gave him the information.
Holomisa testified that he felt the allegations made by Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu against Mapisa-Nqakula were so grave that it was his duty to bring them to the attention of the standing committee.
He sent the first letter on March 26, 2021, and the subject matter of the letter was “serious questions around the allegation of R5 million in dubious payments made by a SANDF contractor against Minister Mapisa-Nqakula”.
Holomisa said apart from asking for his source, the member of the standing committee told him that if he (Holomisa) believed he had a case, he should instead report it to the police.
He explained that he first received the complaint in December 2020, when a teary Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu told him she had to pay money to Mapisa-Nqakula and said she had proof of the payments.
Holomisa said he never had a gripe with either Mapisa-Nqakula or her husband, Charles. They have known each other for years, and he even attended gatherings at their home. Holomisa said even after this matter became public, they would converse when they met at events.
The former minister vehemently denied these allegations, with Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu is expected to testify on Thursday, 23 July 2026.