NPA swoops on speaker’s home
• Search-and-seizure raid after claims Mapisa-Nqakula solicited and received R2.3m from contractor while she was defence minister
The National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA’s) investigative directorate conducted an earlymorning raid on the home of parliamentary speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
The raid follows a high-level investigation into allegations that Mapisa-Nqakula solicited and received at least R2.3m in cash from a former military contractor during her tenure as defence minister.
According to sources, the speaker was at home at the time of the raid in a closed-off area in Adolph Goertz Street, Bruma. Her husband, Charles Nqakula — who was formerly President Cyril Ramaphosa’s security adviser — was home at the time of the raid. The raid ended soon after 11am, after investigators seized certain items.
The speaker returned to SA from an official visit to Paris and New York last week.
On Tuesday afternoon, NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga, confirmed the “search-andseizure” raid on Mapisa-Nqakula’s home, relating to “an investigation against her”.
Mhaga said: “The NPA’s investigative directorate will not be making any further comment on the matter.”
The investigation, which was only known to a select few within the NPA, was launched after accusations by Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, the owner of Umkhombe Marine, that Mapisa-Nqakula sought bribes from her in return for defence contracts.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu’s aviation company was contracted to transport SA National Defence Force equipment back to SA from African countries. The contract was valued at about R24m.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu is married to Maj-Gen Noel Ndhlovu, a former deputy surgeongeneral in the SA Military Health Services.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu was arrested in October 2020 for suspected fraud exceeding R100m due to purported irregularities in her contracts.
It is alleged that MapisaNqakula played a role in awarding the contracts and purportedly solicited cash payments, delivered in either rand or dollars, from Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu in exchange.
The state recently withdrew the case against NtsondwaNdhlovu.
She has turned state witness in the investigation against the speaker, which was already under way. NtsondwaNdhlovu’s husband, who was tipped to become SA’s future surgeon-general, was put on special leave shortly after his wife was arrested.
The Sunday Times reported that the investigation was at an advanced stage and nearing completion.
In her witness statement, Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu accuses Mapisa-Nqakula of making several demands for cash, initially through the late secretary of defence, Sam Gulube, and then directly.
She states that some of the discussions were conducted via text and WhatsApp.
She claimed that she and Mapisa-Nqakula used code words when communicating and that she had to deliver the cash in gift bags on at least 10 different occasions — and once at OR Tambo International Airport just before Mapisa-Nqakula left on an overseas trip.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu kept the text messages as proof. Her statement was given under section 204 of the Criminal Procedures Act, which allows for a witness to incriminate themselves and co-operate with the prosecuting authority in return for immunity from prosecution.
Mapisa-Nqakula told the Sunday Times: “If that is what you are saying, [that] I am being investigated, I expect that I will be questioned by the directorate, and if I am being charged I will be taken to court. And then I will speak for myself.
“But I do know Nombasa and I have met her.”
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu was appointed chair of the SA Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Industries Association two years ago.
She announced her resignation from the position in January. In her resignation letter, she stated: “As discussed [at] our last board meeting, I need to attend to personal legal issues that I would not want these issues to bring the association’s name into disrepute.”