Probe into general’s handling of former Speaker’s request
A senior SANDF general claims he is innocent of charges of flouting protocol in handling an application by disgraced former defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula for the state’s legal assistance in her corruption trial relating to her time in that position.
Adjutant-general of the army Maj-Gen Eric Mnisi said his handling of the request, made in a letter addressed to him on April 1 by Mapisa-Nqakula, was in line with internal processes. Defence minister Thandi Modise on Friday ordered a probe into Mnisi’s handling of the request, which allegedly did not adhere to departmental protocol.
The source of Modise’s unhappiness is that Mnisi, who several senior government officials described as close to Mapisa-Nqakula, only informed her office, the secretary of defence, and the chief of the defence force of the request the day after he had referred it to the state attorney.
Mnisi said: “In the normal course of business, after we receive a request, I take advice from the state attorney. When they say yes or no, I then go to them [the chief of the defence force, the secretary of defence, and the minister of defence],” he said, adding that the decision in normal cases lay with him and not the secretary of defence.
But, because this request involved a former minister his intention was to, after receiving advice, escalate the matter to the secretary of defence and the minister for a decision. “There is no way that I can do something with that much political implication without informing my principal. It’s not the way that we do business,” Mnisi said.
The investigation by secretary of defence, Thobekile Gamede, will clarify whether Mnisi is empowered to communicate directly with the state attorney, or whether the two communicate via accounting officers.
On Friday, ministry spokesperson Amos Phago said Mnisi actioned Mapisa-Nqakula’s request by approaching the state attorney prior to getting approval from Gamede, the department’s accounting officer.
Modise said Mnisi’s actions were “tantamount to disrespect of executive authority in the department”.
“I have instructed Dr Gamede to look into Gen Mnisi’s handling of the matter from an administrative and process point of view as there are protocols that must be followed for such requests,” Modise said.
Modise said she was applying her mind to the request by Mapisa-Nqakula and would “subject it to the prescripts of the law with the view of protecting public funds”.
Several government insiders have said that Mnisi and Mapisa-Nqakula are apparently close, which may have influenced his forwarding the request to the state attorney before informing his superiors.
Mnisi dismissed this, saying: “The former minister is entitled to apply for legal representation, whether or not it’s approved is a different story. I am not a sympathiser of any president or former president, ours is to advise on the requests,” he said.
While the department of justice could not be reached at the time of going to print, a copy of the state legal representation policy, approved by justice minister Ronald Lamola in 2021, states that legal representation shall not be granted in criminal matters where there is an allegation of corruption, among others, as is the case with Mapisa-Nqakula.
Her spokesperson Mike Ramagoma promised to get the former speaker’s attorney, Stephen May, to respond to queries by the Sunday Times, but no response was received by the time of going to print.
The Presidency confirmed last month it would not fund Mapisa-Nqakula’s legal fees. Rise Mzansi’s internal democracy head, Boitumelo Mpakanyane, wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa last month seeking assurances that neither the government nor any other organ of state would pay for MapisaNqakula’s legal fees.
Ramaphosa’s parliamentary counsellor Gerhard Koornhof told Rise Mzansi that neither the president nor the Presidency was responsible for any matter relating to her legal costs. The National Assembly is an independent institution governed by its own rules, said Koornhof. Rize Mzansi sent a similar letter to head of parliament Xolile George who had not yet responded, according to spokesperson Mabine Seabe.