Rather than being compelled to resign, Deputy President Paul Mashatile has requested that Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula be given the opportunity to clarify her record in court. According to him, Mapisa-Nqakula has already made it clear that she has cooperated with the authorities looking into her allegations of corruption.
Mashatile steadfastly declined to state if they would back a motion of no confidence in Mapisa-Nqakula. He did, however, point out that there were existing legal procedures in place and that Parliament ought to hold off until they were completed.
Mapisa-Nqakula has filed a legal challenge to her arrest made by the Investigating Directorate (ID) of the National Prosecuting Authority. Next Tuesday, the Pretoria High Court will rule on the application.
All political parties are urged to support the motion of no confidence that the Democratic Alliance (DA) has submitted against Mapisa-Nqakula. However, Mashatile declined to be drawn into the motion of no confidence controversy when responding to questions on Thursday in Parliament.
“I am aware of the motion that the DA has suggested. The speaker of parliament is assisting law enforcement from my vantage point. You may also be aware that she has stated several times that she is willing to resign if she is found guilty of these alleged offenses, Mashatile added.
As there are currently ongoing investigations and she is not facing charges, my strategy is to give those procedures a chance so that we can ascertain exactly what occurred. Allegations are all that are left. Since the accusations haven’t been verified, I believe it would be premature to ask the speaker to resign from her position at that point.
He added that the speaker was working with law enforcement. The NPA has not disclosed the specific accusations Mapisa-Nqakula is facing, she told the assembly. Mapisa-Nqakula declared she was taking a leave of absence, and deputy speaker Lechesa Tsenoli was named acting speaker.
This made it possible to concentrate on the charges made against her. While serving as the minister of defense, she is accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes from a contractor in the department of defense.
However, Mapisa-Nqakula has refuted the accusations and asserted her innocence.
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