Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu allegedly delivered the wig to the Defence VIP Lounge at OR Tambo International Airport as Mapisa-Nqakula was about to board her plane.
Former National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. Picture: Phill Magakoe / AFP
The state has questioned former National Assembly speaker and defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s insistence on a wig from state witness Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu.
On Tuesday, Mapisa-Nqakula returned to the High Court in Pretoria, where she testified in her corruption case. On Monday, the court dismissed her application for a discharge under section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act, paving the way for her trial to proceed.
Mapisa-Nqakula resigned as National Assembly speaker and member of parliament (MP) in April 2024 and handed herself over to the Lyttelton Police Station that same month.
This followed the Pretoria High Court’s dismissal of her application to block her arrest on corruption allegations the previous month.
At the time, she said she wanted to dedicate her time and focus to dealing with the case against her. She said the resignation was not an admission of guilt.
Mapisa-Nqakula is facing 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering. She is accused of receiving and soliciting R4.5 million, with R2.1 million allegedly received in cash from Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, a service provider to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), between December 2016 and July 2019. She has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu has now turned state witness.
The court previously heard that the two allegedly agreed to use certain sangoma terms as codewords for money, including indumba, impepho, amayeza, snuff, wig, and padlock.
Mapisa-Nqakula: ‘I liked her wig’
On Tuesday, Mapisa-Nqakula testified about her unplanned meeting with Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu at the 10th edition of the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) exhibition in September 2018, at Air Force Base Waterkloof in Tshwane.
She said she was in the holding room, where she met with international guests, when she was informed that Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu wanted to see her. The protocol officer let her in, where Mapisa-Nqakula was. This is despite her not being on the list of guests meant to meet with the then-minister.
Mapisa-Nqakula said their interaction was nothing more than greetings and small talk about the exhibition. However, this is also where she complimented the wig Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu was wearing.
“I had complimented the wig she was wearing. I loved it and asked her where she had bought it from, as I truly wanted it. She responded and said she would organise one for me so that I do not have to go to these places where they go to buy these things,” explained Mapisa-Nqakula.
‘She offered to buy’
However, Nombasa previously said she was not wearing a wig but a weave.
“I don’t know the difference between a wig and a weave. I am not someone who normally wears wigs. If I’m not bald, I have a doek. This is a well-known fact that I have had a shaved head for a very long time, and the reason was that I lost my child, and that was the period when I met with Nombasa,” she explained.
She later corrected her version to add that she would occasionally wear wigs too after Judge Mashudu Munzhelele pointed out that she was seen wearing a wig on 20 September 2018.
“It is true, I was wearing a braids wig. In fact, I am certain when I say this: I would wear a wig on special occasions, but it is rare that it would happen,” she explained.
Mapisa-Nqakula said her interaction with Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu ended after the state witness offered to buy her the wig.
‘What’s so special?’
The two reportedly went their separate ways and did not communicate until early 2019, when Mapisa-Nqakula sent Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu a WhatsApp message asking if she had bought the wig.
“This was not a question of me not affording to buy my own wig; I was just asking about where I could get it,” said Mapisa-Nqakula.
This was when Mapisa-Nqakula was about to travel to Ethiopia.
The state prosecutor asked: “What was so special about the wig?”
“Wigs are different. Some of these wigs, if you were to try them, are heavy; some are light and not long. My interest in that wig was that it’s light and a bob cut,” she explained.
According to evidence presented in court, Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu allegedly delivered the wig to the Defence VIP Lounge at OR Tambo International Airport as Mapisa-Nqakula was about to board her plane.
“She managed to reach me, and I received the wig,” said Mapisa-Nqakula.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu previously testified that the wig was a code for R300 000 and that the money accompanied the wig. The former minister has denied this version and the allegations that the ‘wig’ was gratification.
Mapisa-Nqakula: ‘I’m not that kind of person’
The state witness also testified that Mapisa-Nqakula berated her when she delivered the wig and reminded her of her struggle credentials.
“It’s not true. Yes, I am a strict person, but I know where to exercise this authority. You cannot, after being offered a wig, now when they bring it, you berate them instead of thanking them. I’m not that kind of a person,” said Mapisa-Nqakula.
“That is not my language of reminding people where they come from or where I came from. Nombasa owes me nothing; no one owes me anything. I went to exile on my own. She knows deep down in her heart that I never did that.”
According to evidence presented, the two did not communicate throughout Mapisa-Nqakula’s trip to Ethiopia until her return to the country in February 2019, when the former minister reportedly sent Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu a message thanking her for the wig and informing her she had travelled well.
The trial continues.
