By Johnathan Paoli
Former Defence Minister and National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula was questioned over cash she received for overseas travel, with the State probing whether she declared the money to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and how much she ultimately spent.
Appearing in the North Gauteng High Court in Tshwane on Monday, state prosecutor Emile van der Merwe confronted Mapisa-Nqakula with recently obtained tax records.
Judge Mashudu Munzhelele later adjourned proceedings to give Mapisa-Nqakula time to study the documents before cross-examination resumes on Tuesday.
The State’s questioning centred on allegations that Mapisa-Nqakula received more than $10,000 from defence contractor Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu during a trip to New York, in addition to subsistence and travel (S&T) money provided through the defence force.
Asked whether she had spent all the S&T money she received, Mapisa-Nqakula said she could not remember.
“Sometimes you don’t even have time to go out for shopping. So you spend because it depends on your programme. If the programme does allow you, gives you time to actually go and do some shopping when the period allows. That is the reason, my lady, that makes me then to say I do not recall,” she said through a court translator.
Van der Merwe put it to her that she did not know how much she had received, spent or brought back from the United States.
Mapisa-Nqakula maintained that the money could have been spent on various things while travelling, including purchases for her children, but repeatedly said she could not recall the precise amounts.
Asked whether she had declared the S&T money in her tax returns, she said it formed part of the income dealt with in her tax affairs.
The State then introduced Mapisa-Nqakula’s IRP5 and IT3 records for the 2017 to 2020 tax years.
The documents, dated September 23, were obtained by the prosecution from SARS after Mapisa-Nqakula had not provided the required files.
Her defence objected to the late introduction of the documents, arguing that the State had known about her position on additional income and should have investigated the issue before the trial.
Van der Merwe argued that the evidence had become necessary after Mapisa-Nqakula testified about receiving S&T cash during her evidence-in-chief.
Munzhelele ultimately allowed the State to question Mapisa-Nqakula on the documents, saying the court’s objective was to establish the truth.
“The court at the ultimate end wants the truth. That’s all I want, to know the truth. If this will reveal the truth, then let it be,” she said.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she was unfamiliar with the tax codes contained in the documents and that her tax affairs were handled by a tax practitioner, Joanne Smith.
“As I’ve stated already, I’m not familiar with these documents, and as I see them here, I do not even know what’s contained in this document. But as I’m standing here, I do know that I do not owe SARS,” she said.
Munzhelele granted Mapisa-Nqakula’s request for time to study the documents, saying SARS-related issues could be complicated.
The matter was postponed until Tuesday morning, with Mapisa-Nqakula’s R50,000 bail extended until then.
Mapisa-Nqakula faces 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering over allegations that she solicited about R4.5 million from Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu between December 2016 and July 2019.
The State alleges about R2.1 million was ultimately paid in cash in connection with government contracts awarded to Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu’s company, Umkhombe Marine.
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