Mapisa-Nqakula launches urgent interdict in bid to halt her arrest

Embattled Speaker of Parliament, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has an urgent high court application to interdict law enforcement authorities from arresting her on corruption charges claiming there is “no case”” against her.

This comes after Mapisa-Nqakula reportedly handed herself over at the Pretoria Central Police Station on Friday.

Investigating Directorate officials have since confirmed that Mapisa-Nqakula has not been arrested on corruption charges according to News24.

Mapisa-Nqakula on Thursday said she took special leave from her position as Parliamentary Speaker amid the ongoing investigation into corruption allegations against her.

States case

In the 94-page urgent high court application, Mapisa-Nqakula claims the state’s case against her is “non-existent” and the conduct of law enforcement agencies investigating her “ is indicative of an abuse of process”.

“It has become apparent that the State’s case against me is non-existent and contrived and, while the State’s representatives refuse to make any type of disclosure to me, they are giving disclosure to the media, in a very one-sided and selective fashion, to paint me as guilty (a news article today falsely alleges an agreement to hand myself over).”

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Protecting rights

Mapisa-Nqakula said the ultimate purpose of the application is to protect her constitutional rights to freedom, and dignity, “including my rights to good name and reputation and self-esteem as well as to pursue a vocation of my choosing”.

“In my case, my position and status as Speaker of the National Assembly of Parliament and member of the ruling African National Congress (“the ANC”), with the so-called “step aside rule” carries the further humiliation of publicity and public speculation as well as the limitation on the continuation of my office and vocation,”  Mapisa-Nqakula said.

Innocence

Mapisa-Nqakula said she has devoted the majority of her adult life to the “pursuit of the Rule of Law and Constitutional democracy, and the demise of the security state in South Africa”.

“The machinery of the criminal justice system and the State’s prerogative of prosecution was abused and used as a political tool then. I verily fear that this practice has once again reared its ugly head and, if not stopped, carries the real risk of further fraying the Constitutional fabric of our young democracy.”

Mapisa-Nqakula said her application does not seriously prejudice the ability of the police or National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) from carrying out their functions.

“I have every intention of proving my innocence and clearing my name and restoring my reputation.

“What I submit that the court ought to halt, by granting the relief I seek, is the one-sided flood of information leaked to the media, without disclosing the flaws and manipulations of procedure inherent in the State’s case, while not only prejudicing me through trial by media, but denying me my constitutionally protected rights to fair process and trial,” Mapisa-Nqakula said in her application.

Allegations

Mapisa-Nqakula is facing allegations that she received and solicited at least R2.3 million in cash from a former military contractor during her tenure as defence minister.

Earlier this week, the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate raided her Johannesburg home.

The accusations against the Speaker were reportedly made in a sworn affidavit submitted to the Investigative Directorate by Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, the owner of Umkhombe Marine.

The freight and logistics company allegedly scored R210 million in SANDF tenders in 2019, while the businesswoman was married to the military health services’ deputy surgeon-general, Noel Ndhlovu.

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