JOHANNESBURG - Former Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has defended the source of the money used to renovate her home.
Testifying in her corruption and money laundering trial, she told the court that she relied on her salary, savings and travel allowances.
She insists that she has no reason to disguise any payments and that she had been a Member of Parliament for 30 years, earning a salary and incentives and had managed to save money over the years.
" I have no reason to disguise, the source of the money or the money that I used to do renovations in my house. I was earning a salary, even at home there was a salary, I had incentives and even saved a lot,"
But the state challenged her explanation, arguing that when all cash withdrawals are calculated, including those by Mapisa-Nqakula, her husband and two children, not enough cash is left to pay off the expenses of the betterment at her home.
But she maintained that this was not the case.