South Africa : Police Raid Parliament Speaker’s Home

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, the speaker of South Africa’s National Assembly’s residence was raided on Tuesday as part of a corruption investigation ordered by the National Prosecution Authority.

The raid at her house in Johannesburg’s eastern suburb of Bruma drew a call from the official opposition, the Democratic Alliance, for her to step down.

Earlier this month, it was reported that she solicited 2.3 million rand ($122,000) in bribes in return to awarding contract while she was defense minister.

The Speaker steadfastly upholds her strong conviction of innocence,” said a statement from parliament.

The police unit was acting on behalf of state prosecutors who have been carrying out an investigation.

The statement from parliament said that the police “conducted a search and seizure procedure” at Ms Mapisa-Nqakula’s residence, adding that she “welcomed the investigators into her home, co-operating fully” during the five-hour search.

The 67-year-old veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle became speaker in 2021. Before that, she served as defence minister for seven years.

During her time in that post, Ms Mapisa-Nqakula allegedly made several demands for money.

BBC