National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula set to be arrested on Friday

The speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, is alleged expected to be arrested on Friday and will be charged with corruption and money laundering worth more than R4 million after her arrest.

Several senior investigators and a government official told the Mail & Guardian that Mapisa-Nqakula allegedly solicited and received “gratification” from one businessman during her nine-year tenure as the defence and military veterans minister.

Two sources close to the investigation said plans for the speaker’s arrest began about three weeks ago, while she was attending the 2024 Women Speakers’ Summit on 6 and 7 March in Paris, France.

A senior government official confirmed that her arrest was expected on Friday. Mapisa-Nqakula would have been arrested on Thursday had it not been a public holiday, the official added.

“A draft charge sheet has been prepared, and she will be charged with corruption and money laundering after receiving more than R4 million from a businessman. She has agreed to hand herself over to the police [in Pretoria], where she will be arrested and taken to the magistrate’s court to be charged,” said a source, who asked to remain anonymous.

The speaker’s expected arrest follows a raid on her Johannesburg house on Monday authorised by the directorate.

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