Speaker of the National Assembly Nosiviwe Mapis-Nqakula has resigned her position after having come under investigation by the Hawks over money laundering and bribery going into millions.¹ This took place when she was Minister of Defence and War Veterans.² President Ramaphosa has commended Nquakula for her resignation but came under fire having not followed in her footsteps.³ The president said that citizens must applaud Nquala for having resigned her position that had made her third most powerful person in the country.⁴ In a video shared on the President’s X account, Ramaphosa explained that the speaker’s decision to step down was not an admission of guilt but rather to respect parliament and the ruling party.^{5 (Briefly on MSN)}  

“We “We should recognize her level of integrity”: Ramaphosa on Mapisa-Nquakula’s resignation for our democracy has made her do this.⁶ That should be commended and applauded.”⁷ According to TimesLive, Ramaphosa addressed the media at the Newlyn Park Bayhead Rail terminal project launch in the port of Durban on 4 April 2024.⁸ Mapisa-Nquakula who faces corruption charges for allegedly accepting R2.3m in bribes, resigned on 03 April 2024.⁹ Netizens question when the President would resign as the PhalaPhala case was ongoing.¹⁰ Some of the statements were “With all due respect Sir, you should also be in the dock,”¹¹ or “Wena ke? When are you resigning? PhalaPhala is a criminal act.”¹² A reply by Nare Morema states “And wena you don’t respect the Parliament, the ANC and the people of South Africa, if you did nawe you should resign and go clear your name.”^{13   (Briefly on MSN 1d)}   

So now Ramaphosa is in hot water over his decision to remain in office over the “Phala Phala farm” scandal. This could cost the ruling party a significant amount of votes and therefore a percentage of seats in parliament. The Phala Phala legal Scandal concerns the burglary of money in cash at the President’s private game farm. The theft was never reported to the police and although the president’s personal security detail and body guard were able to retrieve the money but released the thieves. Many South Africans believed the money itself was obtained illegally and the matter is an ongoing investigation by the Hawkes Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation to determine if the money was subject to taxation or not.

Levels of integrity have indeed sunken to an all time low. In a democracy the twin pillars of transparency and accountability go hand in hand with responsible leadership. However, the problem with Ramaphosa resigning is who is worthy enough to take his place at the helm of the nation? Deputy President Paul Mashatile has his own skeletons in the closet that make him much worse. Maybe if it were Lindiwe Sisulu or Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor who was next in line to succeed Ramaphosa then he should step down. With someone like Mashatile being next in line and the ANC being in the majority in the National Assembly the only other option would be to vote out the ruling party in this year’s general elections. Democracy is meant to be about the people making decisions with in the boundaries of constitutional law.     

There definitely needs to be a mechanism to for the people to change the president independently of the ruling party and parliament.

The former National Assembly Speaker faces 12 charges of corruption and one for money laundering.¹⁴ She allegedly received R4.5 million kickbacks from a contractor during her tenure as Defence Minister¹⁵ between 2016 and 2019.¹⁶ According to the state, the charges include 12 counts of corruption under (Preca) Prevention and combatting of Corruption Activities Act and one of money laundering under (Poca) Prevention of Organized Crime Act.¹⁷ The matter has been postponed to 4 June.¹⁷ The state indicated that it will add another accused person before the next court appearance.¹⁸ Speaking to the Media on Thursday, Ramaphosa said Mapisa-Nqakula should be commended for her decision to resign.¹⁹ “The former Speaker  said she wants to resign not so much because she’s guilty but she’s doing it to respect Parliament, the ANC and government as a whole.^{20 (richest on MSN)} 

Mapisa-Nqakula’s resignation is indeed dignified, and she is willing to be go to trial for the truth. This is more than former President Jacob Zuma was willing to do when he was summoned before the Commission of Inquiry into allegations of State Capture to answer for the role, he played in state capture in relation to the Gupta brothers when he was serving as president. Nqakula may wish to prove her innocence and hopefully she has a very good lawyer for that. Nqakula is still taking a risk by going to court. If found guilty she may face heavy fines for corruption and have to pay back the money she laundered from the department of Defence and War Veterans. If Nqakula can’t pay back the money then she might face a lengthy prison sentence. Innocent until proven guilty.

Meanwhile Ramaphosa’s case is a lot more complicated and a whole different story. But he did not plunge the country to junk status.

Sources   

Briefly on MSN1d

“You should resign and go clear your name”: Netizens to Ramaphosa after Mapisa-Nqakula’s resignation.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula should be recognised for her integrity in her decision to step down as …^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13}

richest on MSN1d

‘It is what it is’: Ramaphosa on Mapisa-Nqakula’s court appearance

President Cyril Ramaphosa has reacted to former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s court appearance. ^{14 15 16 17 19 20}