Former deputy president and former Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, was reportedly inside the Lyttelton police station in Tshwane on Thursday morning when embattled former Speaker of Parliament, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula arrived to hand herself over to police, amid a multi-million rand corruption investigation.
Before Mapisa-Nqakula arrived at the police station in a convoy of three sport utility vehicles – a grey Audi Q7, a Mazda and a black BMW X5 – another convoy of at least three vehicles, attached to the SAPS Presidential Protection Service unit had entered the Lyttelton police station.
The SABC reported that Mbete, a long-time friend and ally of Mapisa-Nqakula, was at the Lyttelton police station to support her comrade as she was processed by law enforcement agents in preparation for her court appearance.
Moments later, after Mapisa-Nqakula was also inside the Lyttelton police station, the Presidential Protection Service convoy drove out of the premises with blue police lights flashing.
#MapisaNqakula Former DP Baleka Mbete’s Presidential Convoy that had driven in has just left after spending over 30 minutes in the police station. Mbete was here to show support and solidarity to her comrade & friend. #sabcnews https://t.co/cJLCELVj8v pic.twitter.com/iEIbTD7ybd
A scrum of journalists and photographers was at the main entrance as the BMW 3-series, followed by a BMW X5 with the SAPS Presidential Protection Service badge and a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Mercedes-Benz V-class drove out.
Minutes later, Mapisa-Nqakula also left the Lyttelton police station. Speculation was that she was being transported to either the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court or the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
On Tuesday, the then National Assembly Speaker, Mapisa-Nqakula, suffered a legal blow as the High Court in Pretoria dismissed her urgent application to interdict her impending arrest amid corruption investigations.
“In this case, no arrest has been made and no unlawfulness on its own has been explained to the court except for mere speculation being raised,” Judge Sulet Potterill said.
“Much reliance was placed on the fact that the applicant (Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula) has a right to legal representation of her choice. Clearly the NDPP (National Director of Public Prosecutions) and the police investigator are aware of this right and have afforded her ample time to report to the Lyttleton police station with a legal representative,” she said.
On March 25, IOL reported that when the 94-page application was presented before Potterill, the judge ruled that Mapisa-Nqakula would not be arrested in the interim.
However, Potterill said the decision to arrest will be withheld until her ruling on Tuesday.
Mapisa-Nqakula, who was Minister of Defence from 2012 to 2021, is accused of receiving millions of rand in cash as bribes from a military contractor when she was defence minister. She has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
On Tuesday, Potterill made it abundantly clear that the court would not interdict the statutory bodies from doing their duties.
On Wednesday evening, Mapisa-Nqakula resigned from her National Assembly Speaker position, saying she wanted to focus on the ongoing investigation against her.
The resignation on Wednesday followed weeks of speculation on her future amid threats of arrest by the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate (ID).
Mapisa-Nqakula is accused of receiving more than R4 million in kickbacks from a defence contractor, during her tenure as South Africa’s defence minister.
According to prosecutors, Mapisa-Nqakula allegedly solicited for the more than R4 million in bribes and gratifications from a fraud-accused businesswoman who reportedly received R210 million in defence contracts.
Late on Wednesday, Mapisa-Nqakula said she had decided to quit to allow all legal processes to unfold.
However, she said her resignation was not an admission of guilt.
Mapisa-Nqakula submitted her resignation letter to acting Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli on Wednesday.
IOL