Missing Transcripts Delay Mapisa-Nqakula Corruption Case Dismissal Bid
Former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s attempt to have the corruption and money-laundering case against her dismissed has been delayed after her legal team told the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria that key witness transcripts remain outstanding.
Mapisa-Nqakula’s lawyers are preparing an application in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act, which allows an accused person to ask to be discharged at the close of the State’s case if the prosecution has failed to present sufficient evidence on which a reasonable court could convict.
The State has already closed its case.
However, Mapisa-Nqakula’s defence says it cannot properly prepare the discharge application until it receives the complete transcripts of evidence given during the trial.
Defence waiting for complete court record
The missing transcripts relate to evidence led by witnesses during the prosecution’s case.
Mapisa-Nqakula’s legal team had indicated that it intended applying for her discharge after prosecutors completed their evidence.
The outstanding court record has now delayed that process.
The development means the court will not yet hear the substantive arguments over whether Mapisa-Nqakula should be acquitted without being required to present a defence.
Mapisa-Nqakula faces corruption and money-laundering charges
The former Speaker and former defence minister faces 12 counts of corruption as well as a money-laundering charge.
The State alleges that she solicited approximately R4.55 million in bribes from defence contractor Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu between December 2016 and July 2019 while serving as Minister of Defence and Military Veterans.
Mapisa-Nqakula has pleaded not guilty and denies wrongdoing.
The prosecution has spent weeks presenting witnesses and documentary evidence in an attempt to prove its case.
With the State’s evidence now concluded, the defence is seeking to persuade the court that the prosecution has failed to establish a case requiring Mapisa-Nqakula to answer.
What is a Section 174 application?
Under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act, a court may return a verdict of not guilty at the end of the prosecution’s case if there is no evidence that the accused committed the offence charged or another offence on which a conviction could legally follow.
If Mapisa-Nqakula’s application succeeds, she could be discharged without having to testify or call defence witnesses.
If the court rejects the application, the trial would proceed and her defence would have to decide whether to present evidence.
The delay caused by the missing transcripts therefore affects a potentially decisive stage of the case.
High-profile corruption case continues
Mapisa-Nqakula resigned as National Assembly Speaker in April 2024 after corruption allegations against her intensified.
Her case has remained one of the country’s most closely watched corruption prosecutions because of the senior political positions she previously held.
The latest delay does not amount to either an acquittal or a finding against her.
The court must first receive the outstanding record before the defence can properly argue its Section 174 application.
A further timetable for the application is expected once the missing transcripts are available.
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