EDITORIAL | Bribery claims involving speaker must be acted upon swiftly

Claims of cash bribes allegedly paid to speaker of parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula by a contractor to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) while she was defence minister need to be investigated thoroughly but expeditiously.

Mapisa-Nqakula is the head of an arm of the state, parliament, and the stench of corruption on her head should be given utmost priority.

Defence industry businesswoman Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, the wife of a general in the SANDF military health service, made the sensational claims, published by the Sunday Times, that she paid up to R2.3m in cash to Mapisa-Nqakula between November 2016 and July 2019.

There were over 10 different occasions in which she travelled between Mapisa-Nqakula’s home in Bruma, Johannesburg, the OR Tambo International Airport and Waterkloof military base in Pretoria to deliver cash, code-named by the two as “wigs”, “impepho” (incense), “imithi” (medicine) and “snuff”.

For taxpaying South Africans, that right moment must be created as soon as possible without compromising the quality of the investigation

Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu was herself under investigation for how her company Umkhombe Marine landed R210m in SANDF contracts while married to Maj-Gen Noel Ndhlovu.

Fraud and corruption charges involving an amount higher than R500,000 carry a mandatory minimum sentencing of 15 years, unless exceptional circumstances dictate otherwise.

Describing her first meeting with Mapisa-Nqakula, at which she confirmed her name was not being used to solicit bribes, Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu attributes these remarks to the former defence minister: “You want to know if I am the one who asked for the R300,000? Yes, it’s me and thank you.”

The Sunday Times then lists these as some of the alleged cash payments to her:

• R200,000 drawn at an FNB branch in Fourways in July 2017 and taken to the minister’s home in Bruma;
• R150,000 taken from her home safe in November 2017 for a nurse who was looking after Mapisa-Nqakula’s father;
• R250,000 that she gave to Mapisa-Nqakula on August 17 2018 at a military spouses forum in Zwartkop;
• R150,000 that she delivered to Bruma on September 14 2018;
• A dollar equivalent of R150,000 that was exchanged through the black market and delivered to the minister in a Ted Baker bag during the Africa Aerospace Day event at Waterkloof on September 19 2018; and
• R300,000 she delivered to the minister at the SANDF VIP area at OR Tambo on February 6 2019. At this meeting the minister allegedly shared with Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu details of a defence intelligence briefing that Umkhombe Marine belonged to Brig-Gen Ndhlovu.

It would be easy for Mapisa-Nqakula to say this is a woman who was herself facing many years of imprisonment, given the R210m probe, and to escape has decided to drag her in the mud — more so given that the payments were allegedly in cash and therefore no proof of transaction exists.

However, investigators should be able to use technology to see if Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu’s version is corroborated. Investigators should be able to establish if indeed in February or July she withdrew the R200,000 at the FNB in Fourways, for example. And cellphone tower technology should be able to tell if the two met after the withdrawal. It may still not prove that indeed the money was handed over, but technology will get them closer to establishing whose version is probable.

Right now, Mapisa-Nqakula has chosen not to share her version, as is her right, only noting she knows Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu and that she will speak at the right moment.

For taxpaying South Africans, that right moment must be created as soon as possible without compromising the quality of the investigation. For many others, claims of cash being carried in bags to a minister will not be a surprise, yet the very existence of a probe into this means every effort must be made to ensure that if Mapisa-Nqakula has received even just one of the aforementioned payments, she must face the full might of the law.

More so because Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu also notes “she [Mapisa-Nqakula] was not only asking me but also other suppliers who have tenders from her department”.

If true, therein lies our clue as to why the government always procures services at high costs. Corruption has gnawed away at its ability to provide services to a battered nation.

Our police and prosecutors have made rookie errors in their investigations involving high-profile individuals implicated in state capture fraud and corruption. Given Mapisa-Nqakula’s standing in society, we hope our criminal justice system managers are ticking all the boxes to ensure no impression is created that the high and mighty can steal and plunder our country with impunity.

If Mapisa-Nqakula is innocent, she must be cleared expeditiously. But if guilty, the sooner she’s jailed the better for all.