Mapisa-Nqakula lawyers demand to know incentives State offered Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu to turn witness

JOHANNESBURG - Lawyers of corruption-accused former minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula are demanding to know what incentives the State offered controversial businesswoman Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu to turn State witness against her.  

Mapisa-Nqakula appeared at the high court in Pretoria on Friday, where she made an application for the State to disclose further documents relating to her corruption case.  

She is charged with twelve counts of corruption and one of money laundering.  

ALSO READ:

- Mapisa-Nqakula's lawyers claim corruption charges against her are politically motivated

- State denies hiding information in Mapisa-Nqakula corruption case

- Mapisa-Nqakula's lawyers take a jab at the state

It is alleged that, as defence minister, Mapisa-Nqakula solicited and received bribes amounting to R4.5 million from Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, who was a defence contractor at the time.  

Mapisa-Nqakula is charged with receiving bribes. However, the person who allegedly paid the bribes is not sitting alongside her in the dock.  

That is because Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu has turned State witness.  

Defence advocate Graham Kerr-Phillips said they want to know the details of the deal between Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu and the State.  

“We need to assess what the incentive was for her assisting in this matter. She made a further statement, and I am not going to refer anything more to that statement other than it starts dealing with her credibility as a witness, which we don’t have a full disclosure of. So, if we have a C-section [investigation diary] in this matter, we will know the circumstances as to why she was called as a [section] 204 witness.”  

Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu had a separate, unrelated corruption case against her, which was struck off the court roll in 2024 following a number of delays.  

Lawyers of Mapisa-Nqakula have suggested this might have also been part of her deal with the State.