Former Speaker of Parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula appears at the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court. Experts see the case as no more than a clean-up charade. [Picture: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers]
Behind the smoke of Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula’s court appearance, there is a long list of senior figures in the ruling party who are yet to be held accountable. An analyst puts the saga down simply to a clean-up charade ahead of the May polls.
On Thursday, the former Speaker of Parliament handed herself over to police over corruption allegations emerging from her time as defence minister. The Pretoria Magistrate’s Court granted her R50 000 bail during her first appearance.
“While the legal case against Ms Mapisa-Nqakula continues, she cannot be the one sacrificial lamb offered up in an attempt to fix the ANC’s tarnished image of corruption, nepotism and general malfeasance,” said Roger Solomons, spokesperson for Mmusi Maimane’s Build One South Africa (BOSA).
Solomons pointed out the fact that she was just one out of at least 97 members of the African National Congress (ANC) embroiled in corruption scandals. Among them are senior figures like chairperson Gwede Mantashe and first deputy secretary general Nomvula Mokonyane.
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Clean-up charade
“I believe it is an attempt to clean the ANC’s reputation before the election,” said Andre Duvenhage, professor at the North West University. “There is no doubt that they would like to clear their position and that Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is going to pay a price for that.”
However, he cautioned that this should not in any way lessen the severity of allegations against Nqakula. “I honestly believe there is a very strong case against her and it is highly likely that she will be found guilty.”
The lingering question, he said, was “what with all the other people implicated by the Zondo Commission?”
He said “crime, corruption and misconduct” was in the DNA of the ANC, something that predated their time in office since 1994.
“If you just look what happened in the quatro camps, their links with criminal syndicates and terror organisations throughout the world … There is no doubt that these cultures became part of the new government after 1994 and were systematically institutionalised. The result is what we are seeing now; endemic corruption to the level of state capture.”
He agreed that Nqakula was the “sacrificial lamb” whose time in office was cut short due to “internal conflict” within the party and, possibly, “personality clashes”.
“There are many senior leaders directly implicated by forms of corruption, but when it comes to action, it seems as if the action is very selective. Certain persons are targeted and not others.”
The ANC on Wednesday accepted Nqakula’s resignation. “We value her commitment to maintaining the image of our organisation, as it reflects our principles of organisational renewal that promote proactive responsibility-taking among members, rather than waiting for instructions to step aside,” read a statement issued by national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri.
