South Africa’s parliament speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, has taken ‘special leave’ amidst an ongoing corruption probe.
Mapisa-Nqakula is accused of soliciting bribes in return for contracts during her tenure as defense minister.
Earlier this week, her home was raided by police. She maintains innocence and claims cooperation with investigators.
Mapisa-Nqakula said in a statement on Thursday the decision is her own and she took the step to protect the legislature’s integrity.
The Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party, called on the speaker to vacate her post after the five-hour search of her residence in the east of Johannesburg by investigators working on behalf of the National Prosecuting Authority.
In a statement on Friday, Mapisa-Nqakula’s office denied media reports that she had been arrested, and said she had demanded access to all material related to the “baseless” allegations against her so she could prepare a defense.
“We can confirm that the speaker and her family are at home and that she has had no interaction with the NPA investigative directorate since the search-and-seizure operation at her house on Tuesday,” it said. “We can also confirm that this morning the speaker has filed papers in court challenging the manner in which the search-and-seizure warrant was obtained and the operation itself.”
Mike Ramagoma, the speaker’s special adviser, said by phone that she had also filed court papers against the NPA, asking that they be interdicted from pursuing the case against her.
Earlier this month the Johannesburg-based Sunday Times newspaper reported that Mapisa-Nqakula solicited 2.3 million rand ($122,000) in bribes from a contractor while she was defense minister, citing the contractor. She has denied wrong-doing.
The raid is a headache for President Cyril Ramaphosa just over two months before national elections with the ruling African National Congress dogged by graft allegations.
An elite unit of South Africa’s police has raided the Johannesburg home of the speaker of parliament, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, over corruption allegations.
She has been accused of soliciting bribes in return for awarding contracts when she served as defence minister.
“The Speaker steadfastly upholds her strong conviction of innocence,” said a statement from parliament.
The police unit was acting on behalf of state prosecutors who have been carrying out an investigation.
The statement from parliament said that the police “conducted a search and seizure procedure” at Ms Mapisa-Nqakula’s residence, adding that she “welcomed the investigators into her home, co-operating fully” during the five-hour search.
The 67-year-old veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle became speaker in 2021. Before that, she served as defence minister for seven years.
During her time in that post, Ms Mapisa-Nqakula allegedly made several demands for money, amounting to $120,000 (£96,000), from the owner of a company to secure a tender to transport army equipment back to South Africa from elsewhere on the continent, the Business Day newspaper reports.
Cyril Ramaphosa became president in 2018 on a pledge to tackle corruption in the country. His predecessor, Jacob Zuma, was accused of overseeing a huge effort to divert state resources, charges he denies.
Ms Mapisa-Nqakula herself believes that “corruption poses a significant threat to the principles of democracy and good governance”, parliament said.
“Therefore, she is profoundly disturbed by such allegations.”
In a brief statement, the National Prosecuting Authority confirmed the search operation, but gave no other details and did not say when or whether any charges would be brought.
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