Mapisa-Nqakula denies receiving R250k illicit cash payment

Former National Assembly Speaker and Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has denied requesting and receiving an illicit cash payment of R250 000 from military contractor Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu in 2018.

Mapisa-Nqakula is facing 12 counts of corruption and one of money laundering and is under cross-examination by the in the Pretoria High Court.

Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu previously testified that the former minister requested R250 000 from her through the use of the code word “padkos”.

She says she delivered the money to the minister in a gift bag at an South African National Defence Force (SANDF) spousal forum in 2018.

Mapisa-Nqakula denies receiving any gift from Nombasa.

“My lady, Nombasa never gave me a gift bag, or a Ted bBaker bag, because that’s the bag that they were looking for when they went to search at my place, or the FNB bag, the bag that she referred to and said that’s the bag that she would usually put money in.” The state also questioned Mapisa-Nqakula about the matter involving former SANDF Deputy Surgeon-General, Major-General Noel Ndhlovu, who is Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu’s husband.

The court heard that Ndhlovu had previously been ordered to repay money from his salary in connection with alleged overtime overpayments.

Ndhlovu disputed the basis of the repayment and wrote to senior SANDF officials, explaining that the matter had been mischaracterised.

Mapisa-Nqakula had previously referred to the matter in her evidence.

But when the state presented her with Ndhlovu’s letter today, she said she had never read it, prompting the state to question how she could have spoken about the matter without having seen his account of it.

State Prosecutor, Emile Van Der Merwe said: “You have testified under oath that he claimed over time for hours that he didn’t work, in other words, that he committed fraud.

And for any military man, you probably used the worst expression to say that he acted mutinous.

You repeated that today.

And now we learn that you base these allegations, in which you defame, slander, and commit crimen injuria, without even reading a source document that you base these opinions on.” The trial resumes on the 28 th of September.