THE high court in Pretoria will hear an interdict on Monday, 25 March brought by National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
She filed the interdict to stop her imminent pick up by the police.
Mapisa-Nqakula is accused of receiving kickbacks amounting to R2,3 million from a contractor to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) during her tenure as defence minister.
The Sunday Times reported that Mapisa-Nqakula was named in an affidavit submitted to the Investigative Directorate (ID) by the owner of Umkhombe Marine, Nombasa Ntsodwa-Ndlovu, a company responsible for transporting SANDF cargo during military operations.
But she has since denied any wrongdoing.
Mapisa-Nqakula filed court papers on Friday, 22 March to interdict her arrest. On Tuesday, 19 March, the ID together with the Hawks conducted a search and seizure operation at her home in Bruma, Johannesburg.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesman (NPA) Mthunzi Mhaga said they want the application dismissed as it is baseless.
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“The NPA’s ID will oppose the application as we believe it is baseless and has no merit,” said Mhaga.
Mapisa-Nqakula decided to take leave of absence to allow investigations to continue.
The reports of Mapisa-Nqakula's imminent arrest surfaced last week, but her adviser, Mike Ramagoma, dismissed the reports as false.
“We can certify that the Speaker and her family are at home, and she has had no involvement with the NPA ID since the search and seizure operation at her residence on Tuesday, March 19. We can also reveal that the speaker filed papers in court on Friday, 22 March, challenging both the process in which the search and seizure warrant was obtained and the operation itself,” he said.
Ramogoma said that Mapisa-Nqakula also wants, within her rights, complete disclosure of all material information relating to the case, including the whole docket, so that she can prepare her defence against what she considers to be unfounded charges against her.
“The Speaker requests that the NPA furnish her with the specifics of the case against her, as these appear to have already been leaked to the media, putting her to a media trial with no means of defending herself against these public claims,” he said.
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