South African parliament speaker resigns amid corruption allegation probe

South African parliament speaker resigns amid corruption allegation probe

Speaker of the South African parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has been forced to quit her position amid corruption allegations probe against her.

Mapisa-Nqakula tendered her resignation on Wednesday and stepped down as a member of the parliament.

This came weeks after her home was raided in a graft probe likely to hurt the ruling African National Congress heading into May elections.

“My resignation is in no way an indication or admission of guilt regarding the allegations being levelled against me,” she said in a statement.

Many media reports available to Newstrends indicate the ANC veteran was accused of soliciting 2.3 million rand ($121,000) in bribes from a former military contractor.

The bribes were said to be in exchange for the award of contracts during her tenure as defence minister between 2012 and 2021.

On Tuesday, she failed in a bid to prevent authorities from apprehending her.

Mapisa-Nqakula’s resignation came ahead of next month’s election in the country.

Political analysts say the election may be difficult for the governing African National Congress (ANC) which has been in power since 1994.

The party has faced corruption allegations, including misappropriation of public funds.

The speaker’s probe is one of the high-profile corruption cases in South Africa.

In 2021, a constitutional court sentenced Jacob Zuma, former president of South Africa, to 15 months in jail over contempt of court.

Zuma was forced to step down as president in 2018 over corruption allegations.

He was later released on medical parole but a high court ruling set aside the parole decision and ordered him to return to jail.

In August 2023, Zuma was released from jail due to overcrowding in the prison and has been barred from holding elective position in the country.