PRETORIA - Another witness has claimed knowledge of a deal of some sort playing out between former Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and businesswoman Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndlovu.
But it’s a family affair again.
Andiswa Ntsondwa-Joyi has told the High Court in Pretoria that she accompanied her sister to deliver cash to the ex-Speaker.
Ntsondwa-Ndlovu has already admitted to paying Mapisa-Nqakula R4.5-million.
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Andiswa Ntsondwa-Joyi is the third state witness to testify that she accompanied Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndlovu to Mapisa-Nqakula’s Johannesburg home.
She told the court her sister informed her they were delivering R400,000 in cash because the former minister constantly demanded money.
Although she never saw the cash itself, Ntsondwa-Joyi testified that she saw an A4-sized envelope which, according to her sister, contained the money.
During cross-examination, the defence sought to expose inconsistencies in the state’s evidence.
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Advocate Siyabulela Maphoma pointed out that Ntsondwa-Ndlovu had previously testified the cash was placed in an FNB money bag, which appears to contradict her sister’s account of an A4 envelope.
Earlier witnesses, Lilitha Ndlovu and Dr Noel Ndlovu, the daughter and husband of Ntsondwa-Ndlovu, respectively, also testified that they accompanied her to Mapisa-Nqakula’s home on separate occasions.
However, both maintained they did not know whether she was delivering money.
The court also heard from retired Defence Department legal adviser Simphiwe Nkosana, a friend of Ntsondwa-Ndlovu.
READ: Conflicting evidence presented in Mapisa-Nqakula trial
Nkosana testified that she accompanied the businesswoman to Mapisa-Nqakula’s satellite office at the Waterkloof Air Force Base in September 2018.
While she did not witness any money changing hands or attend the meeting, the state alleges the former minister received $10,000 from the contractor during that visit.
Mapisa-Nqakula has pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption and money laundering, denying that she received any payments from Ntsondwa-Ndlovu.
The state is expected to call a financial flows expert when the trial resumes on Thursday.
- eNCA’s Moloko Moloto reports.