By Johnathan Paoli
Former Defence Minister and National Assembly Speaker Mapisa-Nqakula has invoked “ubuntu” in rejecting evidence that she accepted a R200,000 cash payment from defence contractor Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu on the night she was allegedly robbed while travelling to deliver the money.
Testifying in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday, the former National Assembly speaker disputed the State’s timeline of the alleged payment and insisted she had no knowledge that Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu had been attacked or injured before arriving at her Bruma home.
“I do have ubuntu. I would never be in a situation where someone tells me they were robbed and I just look at them and ask for money without caring about what happened,” Mapisa-Nqakula told the court.
The State alleges Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu delivered R200,000 to Mapisa-Nqakula during their second meeting in July 2017, shortly after surviving an armed robbery in Spruitview, Ekurhuleni.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu previously testified that the attackers failed to find the cash, which she had hidden beneath a car seat.
Her husband, retired South African National Defence Force Major-General Noel Ndhlovu, drove her to Mapisa-Nqakula’s home because she was too injured to drive.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu alleged that she entered the house alone, carrying the cash in her handbag, while her husband waited in the vehicle.
She said Mapisa-Nqakula showed little concern for her injuries when the money was handed over.
Mapisa-Nqakula rejected the account, saying the second meeting took place in April or May 2017 and that Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu never told her she had been robbed.
“As I’m standing here, Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu never once mentioned to me that she had been robbed,” she said.
She also denied receiving money during the meeting, saying Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu had instead come to discuss personal problems involving her sister.
State prosecutor Emile van der Merwe challenged her version, questioning why, if ubuntu was so important to her, she had not instructed her legal team to specifically dispute Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu’s account during the earlier stages of the evidence.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she understood ubuntu as a broad principle of kindness, sympathy and humanity.
“I would have been sympathetic and cried with her, which comes naturally to me. If she had mentioned she was injured, I would have tried to help,” she said.
“Even if she was injured, there is no reason I would stand before this court and lie about not knowing. To suggest otherwise is an insult. It’s equivalent to finding someone on the floor and stepping over them. I was unaware of her injury, and I never received any money from her.”
The prosecution also questioned Mapisa-Nqakula about the nature of her relationship with Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu and why the contractor would approach her with personal matters despite the two women not being close friends.
Mapisa-Nqakula said they shared a bond as “sisters” within the traditional healing community, rather than through family ties.
She said there had been no communication between their first meeting at OR Tambo International Airport in December 2016 and their second meeting in 2017.
She said Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu had requested the meeting without explaining beforehand what she wanted to discuss.
Van der Merwe suggested this was unusual between people who were effectively strangers, but Mapisa-Nqakula rejected the proposition.
“In my culture, when someone requests to see you and you agree, you don’t judge them by their status. I am simply not like that,” she said.
The prosecutor also confronted her about a separate R10,000 payment, questioning her explanation that it may have been intended for groceries.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she would try to remember what the money was for.
“It could be that it was not for groceries but I will try and remember as I’m standing here as to what was it for,” she said.
Mapisa-Nqakula faces 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering linked to allegations that she solicited about R4.5 million from Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu while serving as defence minister between 2016 and 2019.
The State alleges that about R2.1 million was paid in cash in return for assistance with government contracts.
Mapisa-Nqakula has denied the allegations and maintained that her relationship with Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu was rooted in their shared traditional-healing background.
Proceedings were adjourned for the day and are expected to continue on Wednesday.
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