State: Mapisa-Nqakula failed to declare ‘wig’ gift from SANDF contractor

Former defence and military veterans minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula failed to declare a wig given to her by South African National Defence Force (SANDF) logistics contractor Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, the Gauteng high court in Pretoria heard on Thursday.

Mapisa-Nqakula returned to the witness stand for cross-examination by the state prosecutor after her defence team concluded its examination.

She faces 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering stemming from her tenure as defence minister between 2016 and 2019. She is accused of soliciting R4.5m in bribes, R2.1m of which was allegedly paid in cash, from Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu to secure and maintain government tenders. Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu is the state’s key witness who testified about the alleged gratification.

Prosecutor Emile van der Merwe asked Mapisa-Nqakula if she understood during the period in question that corruption was a criminal offence. Mapisa-Nqakula confirmed that she did.

Van der Merwe then pressed her on why she had not pleaded guilty to receiving the money and the wig. Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu previously testified that she gave Mapisa-Nqakula R300,000 in cash hidden beneath a wig, delivering it to her at OR Tambo International Airport around February 2019.

“Which charge should I plead guilty to? I did not commit any crime,” Mapisa-Nqakula said.

Mapisa-Nqakula conceded to receiving the wig, but denied receiving the R300,000 cash. She added that she had not requested the wig; rather, Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu offered it after Mapisa-Nqakula complimented it at an SANDF women’s forum event.

Asked by Van der Merwe why she did not buy the wig herself, Mapisa-Nqakula replied that it was a specific wig she wanted. Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu testified that the wig was worth approximately R2,000, but Mapisa-Nqakula claimed its value was closer to R1,000.

Despite previously testifying about the formal departmental protocols for reporting gifts before accepting them, Mapisa-Nqakula admitted she had failed to report the wig. Under further questioning from Van der Merwe over whether an offence had been committed, Mapisa-Nqakula clarified that gifts below a certain threshold only required notifying the president.

She maintained that she had declared other gifts received between 2016 and 2019, and insisted she had never accepted any unlawful gratification from Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu .

Mapisa-Nqakula was also questioned about her financial records, including her salary and the Subsistence and Travel (S&T) allowances she received for overseas official trips. The court examined a document detailing her international travel and corresponding allowance amounts.

Van der Merwe questioned the document’s validity, noting that it failed to specify the currencies used or include Mapisa-Nqakula’s name, despite her assertion that allowances were paid in the local currency of the destination country.

When asked how much total S&T allowance she received during her tenure, Mapisa-Nqakula stated she did not know the exact figure. She emphasised that her income was strictly limited to her salary and S&T allowances, which she used for household expenses, such as school fees. “Because it’s my money.