News24 | Speaker to suddenly depart on overseas trip, despite corruption probe

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula's home was raided this week. (Brenton Geach/Gallo Images)

• National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is heading overseas as part of a multi-party delegation to Switzerland.
• That's just days after the NPA's Investigating Directorate raided her Joburg home in connection with alleged corruption during her time as defence minister.
• Among the meetings the delegation will attend are the peaceful resolution of the ongoing war in Ukraine and conflict in Gaza.

National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is set to depart on an overseas trip, despite a pending corruption investigation.

In a statement released on Thursday, Parliament announced that Mapisa-Nqakula is set to lead a multi-party delegation to the 148th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly trip to Geneva in Switzerland.

The IPU Assembly would convene under the banner of: "Parliamentary Diplomacy: Building Bridges for Peace and Understanding" between 23-27 March.

Parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said the delegation would participate in various meetings of the Standing Committees and related meetings, including a meeting on Friday, of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Africa Geopolitical Group.

Other scheduled meetings included those of various IPU parliamentary bodies on conflict situations, such as the peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza with its disastrous humanitarian consequences, Mothapo said.

Mapisa-Nqakula's sudden departure comes just days after the National Prosecuting Authority's Investigating Directorate raided her Johannesburg home on Tuesday morning.

The operation by the Investigating Directorate was linked to a probe into alleged corruption during the speaker's time as defence minister.

This comes after the DA laid a complaint against Mapisa-Nqakula with Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests earlier this month, after she was named in an affidavit submitted to the Investigative Directorate (ID) by the owner of Umkhombe Marine, a company responsible for transporting SA National Defence Force (SANDF) cargo for military missions.

News24 previously reported that businesswoman Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu claimed that she paid up to R2.3 million in cash to Mapisa-Nqakula between November 2016 and July 2019 when Mapisa-Nqakula was defence minister.

Mapisa-Nqakula, who became the National Assembly speaker in August 2021, was investigated for allegedly receiving a bribe from a defence contractor, blowing R7 million on aircraft charters and checking into luxury hotels.  

Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Defence appointed a task team in 2021 to investigate the allegations.