By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The National Assembly (NA) Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, will not face immediate arrest as ruled by the Pretoria High Court.
Judge Sulet Potterill said the decision to arrest will be withheld until her ruling on April 2.
Potterill heard Mapisa-Nqakula’s urgent application on Monday to interdict the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Investigating Directorate (ID) from arresting her.
Earlier Potterill postponed the court proceedings to 3pm so that she could review the court papers submitted by both parties.
The stand-off began last week following a raid at her house in Johannesburg by the NPA’s Investigating Directorate (ID).
Mapisa-Nqakula has since taken special leave and parliament said this was provided for in the rules of the National Assembly.
She is accused of taking bribes amounting to R2.3 million from a supplier in the Department of Defence.
In papers filed just after midnight, ID deputy director Bheki Manyathi said Mapisa-Nqakula does not have a right not to be arrested.
“No such right exists in law. The case against [Mapisa-Nqakula] is strong,” said Manyathi.
Manyathi said Mapisa-Nqakula and her lawyer Stephen May’s assertions that there was no case against her were “baseless and is meant just to create sensational misinformation”.
“It is also clear that May and [Mapisa-Nqakula] believe that we are relying only on the uncorroborated evidence of a single witness. That is simply incorrect,” adding that there was “ample independent evidence” that corroborated the account of the corruption whistle-blower, who has accused the speaker of taking bribes during her time as defence minister.
“The total amount in cash that was given to the applicant was R2 550 000. The R2 million referred to in count 6 was asked for by [Mapisa-Nqakula] but was not paid by the witness.”
According to Manyathi, after Mapisa-Nqakula was told that a decision had been made to charge her with corruption, “she stated that she was aware of the investigation and that she would answer for herself in court.”
The speaker spent the weekend at home with family, friends and advisors expressing a concern that the NPA was out to humiliate her.
Manyathi again reiterates that the state will not oppose bail for Mapisa-Nqakula and stresses that her appearance in court does not threaten her right to liberty.
“However, it is still imperative that [Mapisa-Nqakula] be processed so that her matter is enrolled for trial. To mitigate any infringement on her alleged rights, we suggested that she be presented at a police station by her legal representative.”
Manyathi provided a list of 12 alleged payments the SANDF contractor made to the speaker, with dates supplied on when the alleged bribes were received.
According to the NPA, in December 2016, she received R700 000 from the service provider in two payments, and a further R350 000 was allegedly given to her in two transactions dated July and November 2017.
In August of the following year, she allegedly gained a further R250 000 before, the state claims, amassing R450 000 in cash bribes a month later, as well as the alleged failed R2 million demand Mapisa-Nqakula made to the business person.
The remainder of the R800 000 was allegedly given to her in February, April and July 2019, including an alleged R300 000 payment and a wig the contractor is said to have given to her at OR Tambo International Airport. Seven of the payments, the state claims, were made in the Johannesburg suburb of Bruma, where Mapisa-Nqakula’s house is.
During the proceedings, the speaker’s legal counsel, Reg Willis, argued against her arrest, stating that she posed no risk of self-harm, harm to others, or interference with witnesses.
According to Willis, the NPA refused to provide her client with a formal pledge that they would not arrest her awaiting her April 9 application against the state.
Wills further accused the NPA of disclosing information to the media, saying the media has more details about the case than he does.
He added that the state cannot conceal “evidence” that it has against Mapisa-Nqakula.
Willis confidently said that the speaker has rights as a human being with a good reputation, but emphasised that hers was more than the most.
He stressed that the matter should be attended with urgency.
The NPA’s legal counsel, Advocate Makhosi Gwala, argued that the matter could not be deemed urgent,noting that the NPA cannot be instructed on how to handle the status of an individual accused of corruption.
Gwala, denied claims that they have leaked the information to the media.
He called for the speaker’s lawyers to provide evidence that they indeed leaked the information. “We have a media liaison officer and we have no record of unknown sources,” he said.
The judgment in the matter was reserved for 2 April, with the NPA agreeing not to arrest Mapisa-Nqakula before the high court delivers its ruling.
Meanwhile, attorney and Legal commentator Nthabiseng Dubazana says corruption accused Mapisa-Nqakula is pre-empting criminal procedure by asking the courts to grant her access to the state’s docket.
Dubazana says the state will have to first conclude its investigation before disclosing contents of its docket to accused persons and their legal representatives.
She says what Mapisa-Nqakula wants has never been done in criminal law.
“In criminal proceedings you are only entitled to the contents of the docket once investigations have been completed, but moreso when you have been officially charged and the matter is on the court roll and the matter is trial ready. So, what she is tryng to do, she can’t do. As it is she has not been officially charged, so she doesn’t know what the charge she is going to face is going to be.”