PRETORIA - The High Court in Pretoria has heard that former Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and her family could not have funded renovations to their Johannesburg home through cash withdrawals from their bank accounts.
NPA chief financial investigator Wynand Wessels told the Pretoria High Court that the family withdrew a combined R1.57-million between 2018 and 2020.
That amount falls short of what was allegedly spent on fixing the property.
Mapisa-Nqakula is accused of soliciting bribes from a logistics contractor.
Wessels also told the court his analysis of businesswoman Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndlovu’s bank statements showed she withdrew nearly R4.3-million between 2016 and 2020.
The state alleges that a portion of those funds was paid to Mapisa-Nqakula, allegations the former Speaker denies.
Under cross-examination, the defence questioned whether Wessels had any direct evidence that the money reached Mapisa-Nqakula. He responded that his findings relied on sworn statements made by Ntsondwa-Ndlovu.
The defence further indicated it would challenge Wessels’ status as an expert witness.
Earlier, the court heard testimony from former Mapisa-Nqakula spokesperson Joy Peter, who said Ntsondwa-Ndlovu felt abandoned by the Defence Department after her business came under scrutiny.
Peter, who described Ntsondwa-Ndlovu as both a close friend and fellow traditional healer, testified that the businesswoman was angry and believed the then-minister had failed to support her. According to Peter, Ntsondwa-Ndlovu said she would “not go down alone.”
Ntsondwa-Ndlovu has previously testified that her R104-million Defence Department logistics contract was cancelled before she was later awarded what she described as a replacement tender worth R79-million.
Although she has been granted indemnity from prosecution in this case in exchange for truthful testimony, the court also heard that Ntsondwa-Ndlovu is facing separate fraud charges in another court.
The trial resumes on Friday, when the state is expected to call a South African Reserve Bank official to testify about the movement of funds, even beyond South Africa’s borders.
- eNCA’s Moloko Moloto reports.