Embattled former Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, handed over her passport to investigators on Monday.
This was one of the bail conditions set by Magistrate Anna Oosthuizen of the High Court in Pretoria last week after she was released on R50,000 bail following her first court appearance.
The State had requested that bail be set at R100,000. However, Mapisa-Nqakula pleaded with the court, stating that she was now a pensioner and could only afford a maximum of R50,000.
“Passport handed in, and list of witnesses provided to her (Mapisa-Nqakula),” said spokesperson for the ID, Henry Mamothame, according to the Independent Online.
The court ordered that Mapisa-Nqakula surrender her passport by Monday and that she must not apply for another passport pending the finalisation of her case.
12 CHARGES OF CORRUPTION AND ONE FOR MONEY LAUNDERING
She was also provided with the list of witnesses whom the State plans to call to substantiate the multi-million rand corruption charge against her. The former speaker was ordered not to directly or indirectly contact the State’s witnesses.
Mapisa-Nqakula faces 12 charges of corruption and one for money laundering; she is accused of receiving more than R2.3 million in kickbacks from defence contractor Umkhombe Marine’s CEO Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, during her period as South Africa’s defence minister.
Last Thursday, Mapisa-Nqakula handed herself over at the Lyttelton police station following her resignation as Speaker of the National Assembly, saying she wanted to focus on the ongoing investigation against her.
The former Speaker said that her resignation was not an admission of guilt but an act in the interest of justice. This follows weeks of speculation about her impending arrest.
‘MAPISA-NQAKULA IS NOT A FLIGHT RISK,’ SAID HER LAWYER IN COURT
At the time of her resignation on Wednesday, Mapisa-Nqakula faced at least two separate internal probes from two parliamentary committees – one related to the alleged corruption she was being charged with on Thursday.
Her lawyer said Mapisa-Nqakula was not a flight risk, and she had no intentions of skipping the country; her husband, former minister of safety and security Charles Nqakula, two sons, and four grandchildren were all in the country.
The matter was postponed to 4 June.
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