South Africa’s Elie Unit Police raided the home of the speaker of Parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula in Johannesburg on allegations of corruption.
The Speaker is being accused of getting bribes for awarding contracts when she was still serving as the Minister of Defence.
The statement issued by the South African Parliament states that the Speaker faithfully upholds her strong conviction of innocence.
It said that the police unit was on orders of the state prosecutors and had been doing a strong investigation.
The statement from parliament said that the police “conducted a search and seizure procedure” at Ms Mapisa-Nqakula’s residence, adding that she “welcomed the investigators into her home, cooperating fully” during the five-hour search.
Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula aged 67-year-old is a veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle before she became the speaker in 2021.
It’s claimed that when she was defence minister, Mapisa-Nqakula asked for $120,000 from a company owner to help them get a contract. This was to transport army gear back to South Africa.
South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, promised to fight corruption when he took office in 2018. The previous president, Jacob Zuma, faced accusations of stealing state money, which he denies.
Mapisa-Nqakula believes corruption hurts democracy and good government, says Parliament. She’s worried about the accusations.
The National Prosecuting Authority confirmed the search but didn’t give more details. They didn’t say if or when charges would be made.
