---
title: "Mapisa-Nqakula’s bid to walk free fails as ‘cash and coded messages’ survive court test"
description: "An early victory for the National Prosecuting Authority and Investigating Directorate Against Corruption as the State’s corruption case against Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula survives her bid for a discharge, sending the former minister into the next stage of the trial."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "CORRUPTION TRIAL"
author: "Nonkululeko Njilo"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/nonkululeko-njilo/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-09-07-mapisa-nqakulas-bid-to-walk-free-fails-as-cash-and-coded-messages-survive-court-test/"
published: "2026-09-07T12:44:53"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 1005
---

# Mapisa-Nqakula’s bid to walk free fails as ‘cash and coded messages’ survive court test

> An early victory for the National Prosecuting Authority and Investigating Directorate Against Corruption as the State’s corruption case against Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula survives her bid for a discharge, sending the former minister into the next stage of the trial.

By Nonkululeko Njilo · Published 7 September 2026, 14:44 SAST

## Key points
- Gauteng High Court dismisses Nosiviwe Mapisa‑Nqakula’s bid for a discharge — Judge Mashudu Munzhelele finds the State has established a prima facie case and the trial moves to the defence stage.
- Mapisa‑Nqakula faces 12 corruption counts and one money‑laundering count over about R4.55‑million allegedly paid by defence contractor Nombasa Ntsondwa‑Ndhlovu linked to a R104‑million SANDF tender; she denies the charges.
- The State’s case relies on cash payments, bank records, renovations, interactions and WhatsApp “code words” (eg “wig”, “impepho”, “medicine”); the court held the cumulative evidence permits an inference of corrupt intent.
- The defence had attacked hearsay, witness inconsistencies and the lack of direct proof the money reached Mapisa‑Nqakula — but the judge ruled those weaknesses did not defeat a prima facie case, so she must now answer the charges.

## Content

Former National Assembly Speaker and defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will have to answer the corruption and money laundering charges against her after the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Monday rejected her bid to have the case thrown out before she presents her defence.

Delivering judgment, Judge Mashudu Munzhelele found that the State had presented enough evidence to establish a prima facie case against Mapisa-Nqakula.

Munzhelele said the evidence, when considered as a whole, supported an inference that Mapisa-Nqakula knew the alleged payments constituted gratification and were connected to her official position, influence and ability to act.

“In my view, the evidence, considered cumulatively, constitutes a prima facie case… The requisite intention is properly inferred from the surrounding circumstances and the accused’s conduct.”

The judge said the State had therefore presented sufficient evidence for Mapisa-Nqakula to be called upon to answer the charges.

“The State has, therefore, established a prima facie case on the element of intention, sufficient to require the accused to answer,” Munzhelele said.

“It would, consequently, be inappropriate to discharge the applicant in terms of section 174 on the basis that the State did not produce direct evidence of subjective intention.”

Mapisa-Nqakula had asked the court to end the case after the State closed its case, arguing that the prosecution had failed to present enough evidence on which a reasonable court could convict her.

[Mapisa-Nqakula trial: State ‘proves millions changed hands, but not the quid pro quo’

Mapisa-Nqakula trial: State ‘proves millions changed hands, but not the quid pro quo’

August 31, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/fPGGjqWrl-w4oBmMCYr2Z6IYfnA=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/RC2648AQMMLL_276557.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-31-mapisa-nqakula-trial-state-proves-millions-changed-hands-but-not-the-quid-pro-quo/)

The court’s dismissal means she now has a case to answer and the trial will proceed to the defence stage.

Mapisa-Nqakula is facing 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering over allegations that she solicited and received about R4.55-million from Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, a defence contractor, between 2016 and 2019.

She has pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations.

### The defence attacks State’s case

The defence’s application rested heavily on what it described as weaknesses and contradictions in the State’s case, particularly the evidence of Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, the State’s key witness.

Arguing for the discharge, Mapisa-Nqakula’s lawyer, Siyabulela Mapoma SC, told the court that much of the evidence linking the former minister to the alleged payments came from Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu herself.

“All the other witnesses who testified about the giving of the money heard that from Nombasa. The source of the hearsay evidence was Nombasa,” the defence argued.

The defence said this meant there was no independent evidence directly confirming Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu’s allegations that she had paid money to Mapisa-Nqakula.

Mapoma argued that section 174 did not require the defence to prove that there was “no evidence at all”. The question, he said, was whether the evidence before the court was sufficient for a reasonable court to convict.

“It is submitted that the evidence presently before court is not enough to sustain a prima facie case,” Mapoma argued.

“No reasonable court, acting carefully, might convict on it.”

The defence also attacked apparent inconsistencies in the evidence of State witnesses and questioned the reliability and interpretation of WhatsApp messages that the prosecution relied on as part of its case.

### Cash, coded messages and ‘medicine’

The court also considered the State’s reliance on alleged code words used in communications between Mapisa-Nqakula and Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu.

Among the words highlighted were “wig”, “impepho” “snuff”, “medicine” “padkos” and “indumba”.

The defence argued that these were ordinary words and that there was no proper basis for treating them as coded references to money.

The State, however, argued that the words took on a particular meaning in the context of the relationship between the two women and the circumstances surrounding the alleged payments.

The court said it was not required at the section 174 stage to decide whether every one of the words was, beyond reasonable doubt, a reference to money.

Instead, the question was whether the evidence, considered as a whole, established a case requiring Mapisa-Nqakula to answer.

The alleged coded communications formed part of a wider body of evidence relied on by the State, including evidence about cash payments, financial transactions and interactions between the former minister and Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu.

### The alleged payments

At the heart of the trial is the relationship between Mapisa-Nqakula and Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, whose company, Umkhombe Marine, secured a R104-million South African National Defence Force logistics contract in 2016.

The State alleges that the relationship later resulted in a series of payments to Mapisa-Nqakula.

The prosecution’s case included evidence about alleged cash payments, financial transactions, renovations to Mapisa-Nqakula’s Johannesburg home and communications between the former minister and Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu.

But the defence repeatedly pointed out that most of the witnesses did not themselves see Mapisa-Nqakula receiving the alleged bribes.

This was a weakness identified by the defence: that the State had produced evidence suggesting money had changed hands, but had not established the crucial link between the money and Mapisa-Nqakula.

The State rejected this argument, and the court ultimately found that the evidence, considered cumulatively, was sufficient to establish a prima facie case.

Prosecutor Emile van der Merwe argued that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence for Mapisa-Nqakula to be called upon to give her defence.

The State acknowledged that there were inconsistencies in some of the evidence, but argued that these should not be considered in isolation.

“The State takes cognisance of certain inconsistencies between the evidence of witnesses,” Van der Merwe said.

The prosecution’s position was that the evidence had to be considered as a whole rather than witness by witness.

It also argued that there was no reason to reject Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu’s evidence and that her account was supported by evidence from other witnesses and documentary material.

Munzhelele agreed.

The prosecution maintained that the evidence concerning the alleged payments, communications and financial transactions provided a sufficient basis for the case to continue.

The State had also argued that Mapisa-Nqakula’s alleged influence was evident in the handling of Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu’s cancelled R104-million logistics tender.

With the section 174 application dismissed, Mapisa-Nqakula must now present her defence to all the charges . The trial continues. **DM**