Former Defense Minister Faces 30-Year Sentence; Corruption Trial Enters Evidence Phase

PRETORIA - Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s corruption trial moved into its evidentiary phase this week, with the High Court hearing opening arguments and the first witness testimony in a prosecution built around 13 charges and potential sentences reaching 30 years imprisonment.

The trial formally commenced Wednesday before Judge Mashudu Munzhelele. At its center are allegations that Mapisa-Nqakula accepted R4.5-million in bribes from Defence Department contractor Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu during her tenure as Defence Minister. Prosecutors contend that R2.1-million of those funds were delivered in cash across 12 separate transactions, with portions allegedly used to finance renovations at her Johannesburg residence.

Mapisa-Nqakula entered a not guilty plea, rejecting the corruption allegations outright. Her defence team acknowledged that home renovations occurred during the relevant period but maintained that she and her husband financed the work themselves. The defence also challenged the State’s assertion that her ministerial and parliamentary salary represented her sole income source, signaling an alternative narrative about her financial capacity.

The charges carry substantial legal weight. Prosecutor Emile van der Merwe outlined to the court that each of the 12 corruption charges carries a prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years upon conviction. The 13th charge, money laundering, carries a prescribed minimum of 30 years imprisonment or a R100-million fine.

The prosecution has assembled what it characterizes as a strong evidentiary foundation. The State expects to call 28 witnesses and has compiled documentary evidence including WhatsApp messages allegedly exchanged between Mapisa-Nqakula and Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, bank statements, and a financial investigation report. This material is intended to establish the pattern of alleged payments and their alleged use.

By contrast, Mapisa-Nqakula’s legal team made a strategic decision not to deliver an opening statement, a choice that allows the State to present its full case before the defence mounts its response. The defence indicated it may call its own witnesses once the prosecution concludes.

The first witness called was UDM leader Bantu Holomisa, who testified that he initially reported the allegations to Parliament. His testimony served as a procedural entry point into the case, establishing the chain through which the allegations entered official channels.

The trial’s focal point now shifts to Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, the contractor at the center of the allegations. She is expected to take the stand Thursday, and prosecutors anticipate spending much of the coming week presenting her evidence before cross-examination by the defence. Her testimony is likely to form the evidentiary backbone of the prosecution’s case, given her position to speak directly to the nature and timing of the alleged payments.

Mapisa-Nqakula’s appearance in court marks a case that has stretched more than two years from her arrest to trial commencement. She was released on R50,000 bail following her arrest, a condition she has maintained throughout the intervening period. Whether Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu’s testimony next week delivers the evidentiary weight prosecutors are counting on will go a long way toward determining how this case unfolds.