R4,5M Bribery Case: Former Speaker Mapisa-Nqakula In The Dock After Acquittal Bid Failed 

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Pretoria – Former National Assembly Speaker, 69-year-old Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who revealed that she is a traditional healer after her bid for acquittal failed, will be back in the dock this morning, Tuesday 8 September 2026.

The former Speaker faces 12 counts of corruption and 1 count of Money Laundering.

Judge Mashudu Munzhelele, presiding over the matter in the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Pretoria, ruled yesterday, Monday 7 September 2026, that there was a prima facie case for the accused Mapisa-Nqakula to answer.

Mapisa-Nqakula is accused of soliciting bribes of R4,5 million when she was Minister of Defence, with R2,1 million allegedly received in cash from Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, a South African National Defence Force logistics contractor and owner of Umkhombe Marine.

Before Mapisa-Nqakula was appointed Speaker, she served as Minister of Defence for nearly nine years, from 2012.

On Monday, Judge Munzhelele said evidence by the SANDF contractor that the former Minister of Defence asked for “imphepho” – coded language to solicit bribes – could not be ignored.

The judge pointed out that requests for the aromatic herbs coincided wth the contractor’s withdrawals of huge sums of cash soon after she received such messages.  

Judge  Munzhelele said it would be premature to discharge Mapisa-Nqakula at this stage of the trial, given the circumstantial evidence before the court.

“There is evidence, albeit circumstantial, that when considered together with evidence relating to the other counts and the alleged modus operandi, is capable of supporting more than one inference,” Judge Munzhelele said.

“It is therefore in the interest of justice that the matter be proceeded to its conclusion, at which stage the evidence can be assessed in its totality and a final determination made as to whether the state has proved the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Judge Munzhelele dismissed the former Speaker’s application to be acquitted, ruling that there was a prima facie case for Mapisa-Nqakula to answer.

The ruling followed an extensive argument presented to the court by the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) senior state advocate, Emile van der Merwe, wherein he argued against this application.

However, when the trial resumed and Mapisa-Nqakula took the stand in her defence, she revealed that she was a traditional healer and that references to “imphepho” were genuine.

Her evidence was led by Advocate Siyabulela Mapoma SC, the defence counsel.

Opting to speak in IsiXhosa, the accused told the court that when they first met, the contractor Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu had also revealed that she was a traditional healer, hence their references to “imphepho” in cellphone messages.

The matter was adjourned to today, Tuesday, 8 September 2026, for further trial.

Commenting on the ruling to continue with the corruption trial, the Acting Investigating Director of IDAC, Advocate Ntuthuzelo Vanara, welcomed this judgment, saying: “The judgment is demonstrative of the rule of law being in motion”.

He added: “Our team of prosecutors and investigators presented a solid case in their endeavour to prove the validity of the charges levelled against the accused”.

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