'I'm not a flight risk, I stand to lose assets if I run'

"I am not a flight risk."

The former National Assembly speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, uttered these words more than eight times as she desperately pleaded with the court to release her on bail.

As her lawyer pleaded for her bail in the Pretoria magistrate's court yesterday, Mapisa-Nqakula cut a lonely, timid figure in the dock – a stark contrast to the stern legislator known for shouting down unruly members of parliament.

With misty eyes, she would occasionally look in the direction of her husband Charles Nqakula and friend, former speaker Baleka Mbete, who both appeared to be suppressing their own tears behind her.  

In her affidavit, read out by Adv Graham Kerr-Phillips, Mapisa-Nqakula said she stands to lose assets and investments, including her family, should she evade trial.

"I will receive a state pension which I cannot afford to lose if I evade my trial. I am not a flight risk. I have a R7m house in Bruma (a suburb in Johannesburg)," said Mapisa-Nqakula, adding that if she does not get bail people would presume her as guilty.

"I am not a flight risk and there will be no risk that I will be prepared to forfeit my freedom or any bail awarded by this honourable court. I embrace the legal system and will abide by  any finding of this court. I have a right to be released or be granted bail."

Mapisa-Nqakula, who once served as minister of defence, also used the poor state of SA's prisons to petition the court not to send her to jail as an awaiting-trialist. She made the court know that the jails were incapable of accommodating sickly and elderly people like her. 

"South African prisons are dramatically overcrowded, South African prisons are riddled with gang members. South African correctional services don't have the facilities available for me or make provisions for my safety and security.

"Access to ablution and sanitation is totally inadequate and the lack of it contributes to the spread of diseases. Access to medical facilities is virtually nonexisting due to lack of resources. South African prisons are incapable of any form of rehabilitation."

Mapisa-Nqakula is facing 12 counts of corruption for allegedly soliciting and receiving bribes from a service provider while she was the minister of defence in 2016. 

The bribes, allegedly worth about R4.5m, include a wig which was seized when investigators raided her Joburg home last month. They also took away several documents. The bribes were allegedly paid by a contractor's wife Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu.

Mapisa-Nqakula also highlighted that her arrest was politically motivated and was meant to embarrass her.

"Media reported that ANC chief whip Miss Pemmy Majondina said I need to be charged so that the so-called ANC-step-aside can be implemented, resulting in me being removed as the speaker. The messages leaked alleged that Majodina was at the centre of the messages and abused state power to humiliate and embarrass me. There is a suggestion of political motive to prosecute me," she claimed.

She further charged that the state has a weak case against her because its evidence was obtained from a single person. 

"The evidence is subject to cautionary room of evidence. A single witness, a informer and accomplice who perpetrated cautionary law. The evidence was not corroborated by the search and seizure. I have many wigs and I don't know why that wig was taken.”

But prosecutor Bheki Manyathi did not take kindly to the remark about strength of the case.

"My learned friend is persisting and trying to persuade [the court] that the state's case is weak; as the officer of the court, I assure you your worship that [that] is simply incorrect. ... do not go there because you don’t have the disclosure and I am the leading investigating officer, I know what is in the docket. That is an undesirable approach [to attack the state case]," said Manyathi. 

In court papers, the state indicated that it would bring another suspect who allegedly arranged for Mapisa-Nqakula to meet with Ntsondwa-Ndlovu at an airport during the transactions.

The NPA said the identity of the second suspect will be disclosed in the next court appearance.

Manyathi did not oppose bail because of Mapisa-Nqakula's age and health.

Magistrate Anna Oosthuizen said she was satisfied Mapisa-Nqakula had proved she was eligible for bail and successfully argued she could only afford R50,000 despite the state requesting R100,000 bail.

According to her bail conditions, Mapisa-Nqakula must hand over her passport and not have contact with witnesses in this case.

The matter has been postponed to June 4.