National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula resigns amid corruption allegations
Mapisa-Nqakula says this decision was made to dedicate her time to fighting the allegations against her and this is not an admission of guilt.
Picture: GCIS
CAPE TOWN/JOHANNESBURG - Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula says her immediate resignation as National Assembly Speaker and member of Parliament (MP) is not an admission of guilt.
Mapisa-Nqakula announced this afternoon she’s quitting the house with immediate effect.
Her resignation comes just a day after she lost a bid in the high court to ward off being taken into custody over allegations she received kickbacks on tenders when she was the minister of defence.
Mapisa-Nqakula has been an MP for 30 years.
She’s held various ministerial portfolios including Home Affairs, Correctional Services and Defence.
READ: Mapisa-Nqakula has to hand herself in for arrest after interdict bid struck off court roll
She had been the speaker for two and a half years.
In a statement on her resignation - Mapisa-Nqakula says she’s taken the decision to uphold the integrity and sanctity of Parliament.
She adds given the seriousness of the allegations against her she could not continue in the role.
Mapisa-Nqakula has been under mounting pressure from opposition parties to resign or face a motion of no confidence tabled by the da.
She says she will clear her name of the allegations in the appropriate forum when the time is right.
Although she was not due to return to public service after the May elections, the 67-year-old Mapisa-Nqakula says she remains a dedicated member of the African National Congress.
'WE'VE LONG CALLED FOR MAPISA-NQAKULA TO RESIGN': DA
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) says it welcomes the long-overdue resignation of Mapisa-Nqakula as speaker of the National Assembly.
This comes hot on the heels of her losing a court bid to interdict her pending arrest.
Mapisa-Nqakula who is facing multiple charges of corruption and money laundering stemming from her time as Defence Minister has quit as both the speaker and a member of parliament.
Last week the DA proposed a motion of no confidence against the Speaker.
"We’ve long called for her to resign because we believe that the allegations that she’s facing are serious and of course, have put the good name of parliament in jeopardy over the past couple of weeks and we are now hoping the ethics committee, which is busy with this matter will continue to do so," said DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube.
ANC LAUDS MAPISA-NQAKULA'S COMMITMENT TO MAINTAIN PARTY'S IMAGE
At the same time, the ANC has praised Mapisa-Nqakula for stepping down before being instructed to step aside over graft allegations.
The governing party in a short statement - confirmed that she submitted a resignation letter to the office of its secretary general Fikile Mbalula
It claims Mapisa-Nqakula’s resignation was to protect the reputation of the former liberation movement.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri says the party values Mapisa-Nqakula’s commitment to maintaining the image of the party.