Former South African defence minister denies seeking R2m to promote general
In Pretoria, South Africa, former National Assembly speaker and defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula denied asking businesswoman Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndlovu for R2 million in exchange for helping secure her husband’s promotion in the South African National Defence Force. Daily Maverick reports.
Mapisa-Nqakula faces 12 corruption charges and one charge of money laundering. She told the court that she had never asked Ntsondwa-Ndlovu for money.
The prosecution’s version
According to the prosecution, in September 2018, Ntsondwa-Ndlovu was invited to Mapisa-Nqakula’s home in Bruma, allegedly because of a message from the ancestors. Prosecutors say the businesswoman brought R100,000 in cash, expecting another request for money. They allege that the then-minister asked for R2 million to secure her husband’s promotion.
Ntsondwa-Ndlovu previously told the court that she gave Mapisa-Nqakula a total of R4.5 million between 2016 and 2019. She said she refused the request for R2 million because she believed her husband should receive a promotion on merit.
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Testimony on the appointment
The businesswoman’s husband, retired Major General Noel Ndlovu, was a senior military doctor and served in the SANDF for more than 26 years. Mapisa-Nqakula told the Gauteng High Court that Ndlovu could not be appointed Surgeon-General. According to her, he did not receive the required security clearance, investigations involving him and his wife were ongoing, and she described his conduct as mutinous.
The former minister also said that the president made the decision on the appointment after consulting the head of the SANDF, rather than her. On August 3, Ndlovu testified that he had repeatedly been passed over for promotion despite his experience and qualifications.
He also said that he was suspended from service from October 15, 2020, to April 2, 2024, because of an investigation into a military tender awarded to his wife. Ntsondwa-Ndlovu was initially awarded a R104 million contract, which was later suspended and replaced with a R79 million tender. The trial is ongoing.
