WRAP | Mapisa-Nqakula granted R50 000 bail - as State says it will add another accused to corruption case

We adjourn.

- Karyn Maughan

Oosthuizen says the court is satisfied that R50 000 is adequate.

Mapisa-Nqakula should hand her passport to the Investigating Officer by Monday, and part of her bail conditions is that she doesn't have any contact with state witnesses.

- Belinda Pheto

Oosthuizen says it is clear that Mapisa-Nqakula has resigned.

She is further satisfied that she is not a flight risk, but orders her to hand over her passport and not have contact with any of the witnesses against her.

She wants her bail of R50 000.

- Karyn Maughan

Manyathi tells the court that following the search and seizure operation at Mapisa-Nqakula's home on 19 March, the State wants to add another accused, which will be done within three weeks.

He asked the court to postpone the matter until 4 June so the state could add another accused.

- Belinda Pheto  

A big development: Manyathi has just revealed that the state will add another accused in its corruption case against Mapisa-Nqakula.

He says this person will be asked to hand him or herself over.

- Karyn Maughan

In response to questions from the magistrate, Kerr-Phillips says Mapisa-Nqakula is "very senior" and has a reduced earning capacity.

Manyathi says that the state does not wish to restrict Mapisa-Nqakula within South Africa, but will ask that she surrenders her passport by 16:00 on Monday.

She must also not apply for another passport and must be ordered not to contact state witnesses.

- Karyn Maughan

On bail conditions, Manyathi says the State doesn't want to restrict her movement in the country.

Their concern is her international trips.

He asked the court to order Mapisa-Nqakula to surrender her passport to the State and hand it to the investigating officer by 16:00 on Monday, 8 April 2024.

- Belinda Pheto

Kerr-Phillips for Mapisa-Nqakula says the R100 000 suggested by the state is unnecessarily high.

- Belinda Pheto

Kerr-Phillips contends that bail should be granted on the basis of what Mapisa-Nqakula can afford, not on allegations of how much she corruptly received.

He again stresses that Mapisa-Nqakula is a pensioner and is "not a flight risk".

- Karyn Maughan

Manyathi says the state bases its request that Mapisa-Nqakula pay R100 000 bail on the allegation that she received R2.5 million in bribes.

- Karyn Maughan

The bail hearing resumes.

Magistrate Anna Oosthuizen says she is satisfied that this a schedule 5 case - meaning that Mapisa-Nqakula needs to persuade the court that, on the balance of probabilities, it is in the interests of justice for her to be released.

Among other things, the court must weigh up the interests of justice against Mapisa-Nqakula's right to freedom.

She says she has taken account of the state's submissions that she is not a flight risk.

She grants bail.

- Karyn Maughan

Magistrate Anna Oosthuizen is about to deliver her judgment on Mapisa-Nqakula's bail application.

- Belinda Pheto

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula observes the bail proceedings.

(Photo by Alfonso Nqunjana/News24)

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula's counsel pleads her case for bail.

(Photo by Alfonso Nqunjana/News24)

Former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula keeps her head down during proceedings.

(Photo by Alfonso Nqunjana/News24)

We adjourn so that the court can make a decision.

- Karyn Maughan

Manyathi says it was premature for Kerr-Phillips to address the issue of the bail quantum and bail conditions prior to the magistrate agreeing to grant bail.

He again denies that the state is relying on a single witness and says there is "ample evidence" corroborating the 204 witness's testimony against the former Speaker.

The case against Mapisa-Nqakula is "not weak", he adds.

- Karyn Maughan

Kerr-Phillips proposes that the magistrate order Mapisa-Nqakula to pay R50 000 bail and says the R100 000 amount proposed by the state is "just too much" for Mapisa-Nqakula, who he says is "now a pensioner".

- Karyn Maughan

Kerr-Phillips tells the court to set bail at R50 000.

He says that during their discussions with the state, Manyathi had suggested R100 000, but he tells the court that's just too much.

- Belinda Pheto

After praising the state, Kerr-Phillips continues to claim that the prosecution leaked the "204 witness'" evidence to the press.

He wants the magistrate to make a ruling to this effect and continues to argue that the case against the former Speaker is weak.

- Karyn Maughan

After concluding his submissions, Manyathi urges the court to grant bail to Mapisa-Nqakula.

Kerr-Phillips says he has "goosebumps" and praises the "candour, collegiality and wisdom" of the prosecution team (in not opposing bail for his client).

- Karyn Maughan

Manyathi says the state has no reason to believe that there is a risk that Mapisa-Nqakula will abscond. He concludes.

- Karyn Maughan

Manyathi says Mapisa-Nqakula handed herself to the authorities and says her address has been verified.

- Karyn Maughan

Manyathi hits back at Mapisa-Nqakula's claims that the case against her is weak and questions how she would know this, given she has not had access to the evidence against her.

This is an "undesirable strategy", he says.

- Karyn Maughan

The state is responding to her bail application. Manyathi says remarks by Mapisa that the State's case is weak is unfounded because the contents of the docket have not been disclosed.

Manyathi is now telling the court why the state is not opposing bail.

- Belinda Pheto

Advocate Bheki Manyathi (right) speaks to a colleague in court.

(Photo by Alfonso Nqunjana/News24)

Kerr-Phillips says he needs to place it on record that Mapisa-Nqakula suffers from "dangerous hypertension" and requires constant medication.

This would be a "serious consideration" in deciding on bail, he says.

- Karyn Maughan

Mapisa-Nqakula has instructed her lawyers to place on record that she suffers from hypertension.

- Belinda Pheto

Kerr-Phillips completes his reading of Mapisa-Nqakula's affidavit.

Her attorney Stephen May now consults with her.

- Karyn Maughan

Mapisa-Nqakula's bail affidavit refers to the terrible state of SA's prisons, which she contends are unsafe, lack proper medical care and are crime-ridden and incapable of any form of rehabilitation, because wardens are overwhelmed "trying to stop inmates from killing each other".

She says former president Jacob Zuma's treatment in a private hospital while he was in jail for contempt shows that prisons have inadequate medical care.

- Karyn Maughan

Mapisa-Nqakula says she will comply with any bail conditions imposed by the state.

This may include her handing her passports over and being required to report to a police station on a regular basis.

She says she is not in physical or mental position to cope with being imprisoned - and refers to a judge's report that outlined the shockingly overcrowded state of South Africa's prisons.

- Karyn Maughan

Former National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is seen in the dock.

(Photo by Alfonso Nqunjana/News24)

She says she has a constitutional right to be released on bail and adds it's in the interest of justice to be granted bail.

- Belinda Pheto

Mapisa-Nqakula says she has every intention to stand trial; she's not a flight risk, and there was no reason to arrest her.

- Belinda Pheto

Mapisa-Nqakula stresses that the State has not chosen to oppose her receiving bail.

She is adamant that she will stand her trial.

- Karyn Maughan

Mapisa-Nqakula and her lawyers - as they have in the past - are again seeking access to the docket of evidence against her.

Manyathi previously stated that the investigation into the former Speaker's alleged corruption had been completed, which she and her lawyers argue mean that authorities can provide her with the evidence against her.

She nonetheless believes it could take up to three years before she finally faces trial.

- Karyn Maughan

Former National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula in the dock.

(Photo by Alfonso Nqunjana/News24)

Mapisa-Nqakula says she will suffer "serious physical harm" if she is forced to remain in prison pending her trial.

- Karyn Maughan

"It cannot be shown that I have a disposition to commit crime... I embrace the legal system," Mapisa- Nqakula says.

She adds that - in the "unlikely" event that she is convicted - she is likely to be a "non-custodial sentence".

In other words, she does not believe that she will go to jail.

- Karyn Maughan

Mapisa-Nqakula says she will comply with any bail conditions the court will place.

- Belinda Pheto

She says her release on bail will not disturb public order.

- Belinda Pheto

Mapisa-Nqakula doesn't know who the state witnesses are, except for the section 204 witness.

Even with her, she says she has no intention of contacting her ever again.

- Belinda Pheto

Mapisa-Nqakula says the wig that the state seized from her home was one of "many" that she has - and questions why this wig was taken.

She strongly denies that she has sought to evade justice by launching multiple legal challenges to the case against her, which she contends is malicious and politically motivated.

- Karyn Maughan

Mapisa-Nqakula says the state's case relies on a single witness.

She says there is a suggestion of a political motive behind her case, which will automatically bring in the step-aside rule.

She says the timing is questionable.

- Belinda Pheto

According to the state:

"Between December 2016 and July 2019, Nqakula formed a corrupt relationship with Ndhlovu and Ndhlovu, upon receipt of various payments made to Umkhombe by DOD [Department of Defence] made several payments to Nqakula amounting to R2 150 000.00.

"As a result, Twelve (12) offences were committed by Nqakula in terms of the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004 (PRECCA)".

The ID further alleges that "Ndhlovu in addition gave [a Ted Baker hand bag and Sarhap bag] to Nqakula".

It claims the then Minister used some of the bribes paid to her to fund renovations to her home in Johannesburg. In a somewhat cryptic statement in its application for a warrant to search Mapisa-Nqakula's home, the ID adds: "[A brown bear skin with claws] was alleged to have been brought into the Republic of South Africa illegally by Nqakula and will have to be subjected to further investigation upon seizure thereof".

According to Mapisa-Nqakula, police never found that bear skin. Nor did they recover the bags, or large cash amounts they were looking for.

They did, she said, seize "certain receipts in my husband's study which I share, which my husband believes related to purchases of, to his best recollection, house maintenance projects in and about 2016 to 2019".

- Karyn Maughan

Mapisa-Nqakula also says in her affidavit that she has no idea what the state has offered to the section 204 witness, from whom she is alleged to have received bribes.

- Belinda Pheto

Mapisa-Nqakula again argues that the state's failure to recover two designer handbags allegedly linked to the corruption case against her - as well as a bear skin whose relevance remains unclear - demonstrates that it does not have a strong case against her.  

The State has denied this - and contends it recovered a wig related to the case.

- Karyn Maughan