South Africa's parliament speaker resigns over bribery charges, know how corruption puts ruling party in rough spot ahead of polls

South Africa’s National Assembly (NA) Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, has resigned after being named in a corruption case. The NA is the lower house of the South Africa’s parliament.

Mapisa-Nqakula resigned on Wednesday after a court rejected her application for protection from arrest in the case. She also vacated her seat in the country’s parliament.

Mapisa-Nqakula has been accused of receiving about $135,000 in bribes from a defense contractor when she was the country’s defense minister. She has denied the charges and has maintained that she is innocent.

“I have made this conscious decision in order to dedicate my time and focus to deal with the recently announced investigation against me by our country’s law enforcement agencies. My resignation is in no way an indication or admission of guilt regarding the allegations being levelled against me,” said Mapisa-Nqakula in a statement.

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The corruption case against Mapisa-Nqakula has also put her party, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC), in a crisis ahead of the elections two months later.

What’s defence corruption case Mapisa-Nqakula is named in?

The prosecutors have accused Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula of receiving around $135,000 in bribes from a defence contractor to award it contracts when she was the Defence Minister of South Africa (2014-21), according to reports.

Ther reports said Mapisa-Nqakula is accused of allegedly receiving the bribe between December 2016 and July 2019. Another tranche of alleged bribe, amounting to around $105,000, was not paid.

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The Sunday Times has reported that Mapisa-Nqakula was named in an affidavit submitted to the country’s National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Investigative Directorate (ID) by Nombasa Ntsodwa-Ndlovu, the owner of Umkhombe Marine, a company engaged in transporting cargo for the country’s military.

Last month, the NPA’s ID raided Mapisa-Nqakula’s house and carried out a search and seizure operation.

Mapisa-Nqakula’s corruption case puts ruling party in rough spot ahead of polls

The case against Mapisa-Nqakula has plunged her party, South Africa’s ruling ANC, in a crisis ahead of the polls scheduled in May. The ANC is set to contest the polls amid high unemployment, rising poverty, and anger over corruption charges against its leaders.

Recent surveys have suggested that ANC could get less than 50% votes in the elections, which would be the lowest for the party since 1994.

Mapisa-Nqakula is not the only ANC leader to face corruption. Her case follows the case of Jacob Zuma, the former party chief and South African president, who has been accused of widespread corruption to enrich himself, his family, and his friends.