Cape Town – The National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who faces arrest for allegedly taking bribes of millions of rand from a contractor when she was defence minister, has resigned.
Mapisa-Nqakula whose bid to prevent her arrest was thrown out of court on Tuesday submitted her resignation letter to Parliament on Wednesday.
In the letter addressed to the Acting Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli, 67-year-old Mapisa-Nqakula said she was also resigning as an African National Congress Member of Parliament.
“I have made this conscious decision in order to dedicate my time and focus to deal with the recently announced investigation against me by our country’s law enforcement agencies,” Mapisa-Nqakula said in her resignation letter.
She said that “given the seriousness” of the accusations levelled against her, she could not continue as Speaker.
The charges are so serious that law enforcement agencies raided her Johannesburg home last month.
Mapisa-Nqakula denies the allegations that she received kickbacks of millions of rand from a contractor when she was defence minister.
“I believe that at the right time, I will have the opportunity to thoroughly address these allegations as and when they have been formally brought against me in the appropriate forums, at which time I will clear my good name,” Mapisa-Nqakula wrote.
“I maintain my innocence and am determined to restore my good reputation.”
The former Speaker was now expected to hand herself over to authorities before appearing in court.
