After her resignation, Acting Speaker Tsenoli thanks Mapisa-Nqakula for her service as MP
Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula quit the legislature on Wednesday amid the corruption allegations she’s facing for alleged tender bribes she received as the former defence minister.
National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula arriving at the French Parliament for the 2024 Women’s Speakers Summit on 7 March 2024. Picture: @ParliamentofRSA/X
CAPE TOWN - Acting Speaker of the National Assembly, Lechesa Tsenoli, has thanked Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula for her service as a member of Parliament over the last three decades.
Mapisa-Nqakula quit the legislature on Wednesday amid the corruption allegations she’s facing for alleged tender bribes she received as the former defence minister.
Meanwhile, the African National Congress (ANC)'s parliamentary caucus said it backed Mapisa-Nqakula’s presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
Mapisa-Nqakula is the first National Assembly Speaker to resign from office.
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Confirming her resignation to Tsenoli, Mapisa-Nqakula explained her decision as being the most appropriate course of action to maintain the reputation of Parliament.
Parliamentary spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo: "Ms Mapisa-Nqakula has expressed that her decision was driven by the deep respect for the integrity of Parliament, its work and the laws of the Republic of South Africa."
Meanwhile, the ANC in Parliament has affirmed Mapisa-Nqakula’s assertion that her resignation was not an admission of guilt.
ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina said the caucus would forever be grateful for the role Mapisa-Nqakula played in her relatively short tenure.
Majodina said she championed the causes of women and the poor, both at home and in various international forums where she represented the country.
As the storm erupted around Mapisa-Nqakula early last month, she made two back-to-back international trips to Paris and New York to advance these causes. Her planned travel to Switzerland for another engagement thereafter was scuppered by a raid on her house and indications that authorities planned to arrest her.
On Tuesday, Mapisa-Nqakula lost a legal bid to prevent her arrest and to rather be summoned to court.
Mapisa-Nqakula was elected to lead the legislature in August 2021 following the blame placed on the defence ministry for the riots in KwaZulu-Natal.