Pretoria – Former National Assembly Speaker was on Thursday granted bail of R50 000 in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court, where she appeared on 12 charges of corruption and money laundering.
In pleading for bail, Kerr-Phillips the lawyer for the 67-year-old graft accused revealed that she was the mother of two sons, suffers from hypertension, and lives in a house valued at R7 million – with a bond balance of R2 million.
The former Speaker’s husband, the ex-safety and security minister, Charles Nqakula was in attendance at the court.
Also in her favour was the fact that she handed herself to authorities at the Lyttelton Police Station earlier Thursday.
The State did not oppose bail but requested the court to impose conditions that included the accused handing in her passport by 16:00 on Monday 8 April 2024.
The court acceded to the suggestions.
However, Mapisa-Nqakula can travel freely anywhere in South Africa.
The conditions suggested also included that the accused must not communicate or interfere with the witnesses.
Although the matter was considered a schedule five offence, the court said it was in the interest of justice that the accused be released on bail.
However, there was some haggling over the amount with the State prosecutor Bheki Manyathi insisting on R100 000, while Mapisa Nqakula’s lawyers suggested half the amount.
“The state is not opposing her bail because she is not considered a flight risk,” said Magistrate Anna Oosthuizen.
She said that considering that Mapisa-Nqakula had resigned from her job, the question of affordability had to be considered.
Magistrate Oosthuizen granted the accused bail of R50 000.
During proceedings, the state revealed prosecutors want to add another accused at the next court hearing of the matter on 4 June 2024.
Before appearing in court, Mapisa-Nqakula handed herself to authorities at the Lyttelton Police Station.
She arrived in a car with dark-tinted windows accompanied by her lawyers.
The State alleges that when Mapisa-Nqakula was defence minister, she received at least R2.3 million in bribes between 2017 and 2019.
The State further alleges that the former speaker accepted bribes from a defence contractor Nombasa Ndhlovu, who has now turned State witness.
Ndhlovu alleges the bribes were paid to secure contracts for her company Umkhombe Marine.
Mapisa-Nqakula, who denies the allegations, said she “wants to clear her name”.
