Former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will know next week whether she has a case to answer after the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria reserved judgment on her bid to be discharged from her corruption and money-laundering trial.
The court has postponed the matter to 7 September 2026 for judgment on Mapisa-Nqakula’s application in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act, in which she is seeking to be discharged at the close of the State’s case.
The application was argued extensively by Mapisa-Nqakula’s legal team, while the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) argued against her discharge.
The outcome could prove decisive for the former Speaker. If the court finds that there is insufficient evidence on which a reasonable court could convict, she could be discharged without being required to present a defence. If the application fails, the trial will proceed.
IDAC spokesperson Henry Mamothame confirmed that the judgment had been set down for 7 September.
Mapisa-Nqakula faces 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering. The State alleges that she solicited R4.5 million from a service provider, of which R2.1 million was allegedly received in cash.
The charges relate to the period when Mapisa-Nqakula was Minister of Defence and Military Veterans.
The case brought Mapisa-Nqakula’s political career crashing down in April 2024 when she resigned as Speaker of the National Assembly and as a Member of Parliament.
Her resignation came shortly after investigators conducted a search and seizure operation at her Johannesburg residence as part of the corruption investigation. Parliament confirmed at the time that the investigation related to alleged corruption during her tenure as defence minister.
Mapisa-Nqakula subsequently handed herself over to police and appeared in court, where she was formally charged with 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering and granted bail of R50,000.
She has consistently denied wrongdoing. Before her arrest, Mapisa-Nqakula had also launched an urgent court application seeking to prevent the State from arresting her. The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria struck that application from the roll, finding that the relief she sought was not competent on the basis advanced.
The corruption allegations have centred on payments allegedly made by defence contractor Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, who became a key State witness.
During the trial, Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu testified about alleged demands for money after her company secured a replacement contract with the South African National Defence Force.
Mapisa-Nqakula told the court that Mapisa-Nqakula allegedly solicited R4.5 million between 2016 and 2019 and that R2.1 million was ultimately paid in cash.
The defence, however, has attacked aspects of the State’s evidence, pointing to alleged inconsistencies in the testimony surrounding the payments and allegations made against Mapisa-Nqakula.
The former Speaker pleaded not guilty to the charges and has maintained that the State must prove its case against her.
The court must now decide whether the evidence presented by the prosecution has crossed the threshold required for the case to continue.
For Mapisa-Nqakula, 7 September could therefore become the most consequential date yet in a corruption case that has already ended her tenure as one of Parliament’s most senior office-bearers.
If the Section 174 application succeeds, the former Speaker could walk out of the criminal trial without being called upon to mount a defence.
If it fails, the case moves into its next phase with Mapisa-Nqakula facing the prospect of having to answer in court to the State’s allegations.
The judgment is expected on 7 September 2026.