By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Former minister of Defence Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula testimony was interrupted when she became ill during a court break on Wednesday and subsequently required medical attention. Court was adjourned as a result.
Mapisa-Nqakula faces 12 counts of corruption and one of money laundering.
The State alleges that she received about R4.55-million from businesswoman Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu between 2016 and 2019 in connection with contracts awarded to Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu’s company, Umkhombe Marine, by the South African National Defence Force.
Mapisa-Nqakula’s legal team said they could not provide a diagnosis but believed she may have been fatigued.
“We are unable to give a diagnosis, but she looked like she was fatigued and we cannot forget the fact that we have been in court since the 20th of July and now we are stretching closer to two months,” her lawyer Makhi Nogaga said.
During the proceedings, Mapisa-Nqakula was asked about the payments during her evidence in chief in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
The court heard earlier in the trial that the renovations to her Johannesburg home, cost between R1.6-million and R1.8-million and included about R600,000 for curtains.
She, however, disputed these figures, suggesting they were exaggerated and that they included art and furniture.
Mapisa-Nqakula’s lawyer, Siyabulela Mapoma, asked her why she had paid interior designer Nomsa Patricia Betty Shabangu in cash rather than using electronic transfers.
“I am not an EFT person. Ever since they did away with cheques, I struggled,” Mapisa-Nqakula said.
She said it had taken her years to learn how to use electronic transfers and that she only became comfortable with them after retiring.
Mapisa-Nqakula said there was also a practical reason for using cash as some of the workers involved in the renovations did not operate bank accounts and expected to be paid in cash.
She said the workers wanted their money on Fridays rather than being given cheques.
This prompted Judge Mashudu Munzhelele to ask whether she and her husband regularly carried cash.
“Not necessarily,” Mapisa-Nqakula replied.
She said their bank records would show that both she and her husband withdrew money from ATMs to make payments.
Mapisa-Nqakula also spoke about security concerns at her Bruma home, saying there had been multiple threats to her life.
She told the court that some security work was carried out at the property after the renovations.
The first intervention came in 2013 or 2014, when the Department of Public Works built a boundary wall at the property at a cost of about R100,000.
It remains unclear whether the trial will continue on Thursday. The legal team said they would be guided by Mapisa-Nqakula’s doctor on her condition and whether she was fit to return to court.