The court case of National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has elements of “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” about it.
The theme is at the centre of George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm, an allegory for the events leading up to the Russian Revolution and the early years of the Soviet Union. The phrase highlights the hypocrisy and corruption of the ruling class.
Rightfully so, Mapisa-Nqakula, on Tuesday suffered a legal blow after the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, dismissed her urgent application to interdict her impending arrest amid a corruption probe.
The arrest had not been made, and as Judge Sulet Potterill said, much reliance was placed on the fact that Mapisa-Nqakula “has a right to legal representation”.
Clearly, the National Director of Public Prosecutions and the police investigator are aware of this right and thus have afforded her ample time to report to the police station with a legal representative, said the judge.
In an unprecedented move, “Madam Speaker” sought to interdict an arrest – for allegedly accepting money from a service provider during her time as defence minister – which had not happened.
Speaking to journalists after the ruling, National Prosecuting Authority national spokesperson advocate Mthunzi Mhaga said “the wheels of justice will now be in motion”.
Essentially, Mapisa-Nqakula wanted the court to decide on her arrest before it could happen.
As laymen, we will never know what her motives were, but Mapisa-Nqakula was in essence saying, “I am the Speaker of the National Assembly and head of the highest decision-making body in the Republic.
“Moreover, I am a deployee of the ruling ANC; you shall not willy-nilly arrest me without giving me a full disclosure about the nature of the investigation against me.”
Mapisa-Nqakula is “no more equal that other animals” and must be arrested and then argue her case in court, like all other South Africans who have charges against them.
Cape Times