She will reportedly make her first court appearance at 9am.
National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has reportedly handed herself over at the Pretoria Central Police Station.
This comes after Mapisa-Nqakula took special leave from her position amid the ongoing investigation into corruption allegations against her.
“Given the seriousness of the allegations and the attendant extensive media speculation, I have decided to take special leave from my position as Speaker of the National Assembly, effective immediately. This decision has been communicated to the Secretary of Parliament and to the President of the Republic in his capacity as Head of State,” said Mapisa-Nqakula on Thursday.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she also communicated her decision to take special leave to the African National Congress (ANC)
Arrest
According to a post on X by the United Democratic Movement’s (UDM) Bantu Holomisa, Mapisa-Nqakula has already been arrested.
“The Speaker has finally been arrested. She is inside the Pretoria Police Station. At 9am she will appear in the Criminal Court,” he wrote.
The Speaker has finally been arrested . She is inside the Pretoria Police Station. At 9am she will appear in the Criminal Court.
— Bantu Holomisa (@BantuHolomisa) March 22, 2024
The Citizen spoke to police spokesperson Colonel Mavela Masondo, who is yet to confirmed the arrest of Mapisa-Nqakula.
[BREAKING NEWS] National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has handed herself over at the Pretoria Central Police Station and will appear in court at 9AM.
Tune into #Newzroom405 for more details. pic.twitter.com/NXMHiKDIEy
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) March 22, 2024
ALSO READ: Speaker Mapisa-Nqakula takes special leave amid corruption probe
Interdict
According to News24, hours after announcing that she was taking special leave, Mapisa-Nqakula launched an urgent bid to interdict law enforcement authorities from arresting her on corruption charges – and claims there is “no case”” against her.
“I am a senior person and the respondents rushing me into a police cell for reasons other than that I am a flight risk, is a threat to my health and life,” she stated in court papers, where she reiterates that she is “innocent of the charges sought to be levelled against me,” she said in an application filed in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Thursday.
Corruption
The heat has been on the Speaker after the Hawks, acting on behalf of the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA’s) Investigative Directorate (ID) raided her home in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
The Hawks‘ raid follows an investigation into allegations that Mapisa-Nqakula received and solicited at least R2.3m in cash from a former military contractor during her tenure as defence minister.
The accusations against the Speaker were reportedly made in a sworn affidavit submitted to the Investigative Directorate by Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, the owner of Umkhombe Marine.
The freight and logistics company allegedly scored R210 million in SANDF tenders in 2019, while the businesswoman was married to the military health services’ deputy surgeon-general, Noel Ndhlovu.
ALSO READ: Mapisa-Nqakula set to lead delegation to Switzerland amid corruption probe