By Marcus Moloko
Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, has made explosive admissions about the ANC’s handling of the Phala Phala report vote in December 2022, conceding that the party “abused its majority” to shield President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In a candid May 2026 interview with Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, Mapisa-Nqakula recounted how current ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula allegedly instructed MPs in caucus ahead of the vote.
“Well, today is the day. It’s D-Day. We are going to discuss the report, and we are going to vote. But I want to say to the caucus of the ANC, none of you will vote for this report in favour of this report. It’s a report of the Speaker,” she quoted Mbalula as allegedly saying.
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Pressed by Ndlozi on whether the vote amounted to abuse of parliamentary power, Mapisa-Nqakula responded, “I think we did. I hate to say this, we did. And I’m saying this with all sincerity and honesty… I hang my head in shame because we could have done better.”
She acknowledged that the decision to reject requests for a secret ballot forced ANC MPs to toe the party line rather than vote according to conscience.
“It was not necessary to walk into a caucus and say, you will do what I want you [to do]. It could have been more mature in the manner. Our democracy is maturing. The Constitutional Court has ruled. I hang my head in shame because we could have done better,” she said.
Her admission comes just days after the Constitutional Court declared the 2022 vote unlawful, ruling that Parliament failed in its oversight duty.
The judgment effectively reactivates the Section 89 panel’s findings, which had pointed to prima facie evidence of misconduct by Ramaphosa, and paves the way for an impeachment committee to consider the matter.
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It was in November 2022 that an Independent Panel found evidence of possible serious violations by Ramaphosa. In December 2022, the National Assembly voted 214 to 148 against adopting the report.
Mapisa-Nqakula’s admission comes as she faces her own legal challenges.
She resigned as Speaker in April 2024 following a probe for which she faces 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering. The state has accused her of receiving and soliciting R4.5m related to an army transport tender, with R2.1m allegedly received in cash. The matter has been set down for trial, starting on 20 July.
She has maintained that the charges were politically motivated, claiming they began after she convened the Phala Phala inquiry.
Her confession that the ANC deliberately used its majority to block accountability anchors one of the most direct acknowledgments, as it adds weight to opposition claims that Parliament was coerced to protect the president.
