Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has given her version of the disputed wig handover and her relationship with the businesswoman at the centre of her corruption case. (Photo: Supplied / Source)Former National Assembly speaker and defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has given the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria her version of a wig that she received from businesswoman Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, which has been linked to a R300,000 cash payment.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu previously testified that the word “wig” was used as a code word for a request for money, and described the handover of the cash as being concealed beneath a wig in a bag at the Defence VIP Lounge at OR Tambo International Airport.
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 Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, a defence contractor, between 2016 and 2019.
Testifying on Tuesday, 8 September 2026, Mapisa-Nqakula gave a different version, saying the wig was an actual hairpiece she had asked Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu to organise for her after admiring her hairstyle at an event in 2018.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu had been the programme director at the event, Mapisa-Nqakula said. She testified that she complimented Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu and asked where she had got the hair because she “truly” wanted one.
According to Mapisa-Nqakula, Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu responded: “No ma’am, I could organise it for you because you cannot go to a place like that.”
Mapisa-Nqakula told the court that she was not normally someone who wore wigs due to her ancestral journey and following the passing of her child.
“I am not someone who would, under normal circumstances, put on a wig. If I’m not bald-headed, I am having my doek,” she said.
She nevertheless told Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu that she wanted something “small and light in weight”. Mapisa-Nqakula said she subsequently enquired twice about the wig, asking Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu about its availability and even telling her she was willing to go purchase it herself.
She eventually received it months later, in 2019, she told the court.
Judge Mashudu Munzhelele, however, questioned her explanation that she was not normally a wig wearer, pointing to a photograph showing Mapisa-Nqakula wearing a wig on 20 September 2018.
“But on the 20th of September 2018, you were wearing a wig… I am saying this because you said you were always bald-headed or in a doek,” Munzhelele said.
“That is true, My Lady,” Mapisa-Nqakula replied.
“But the two things cannot both be true,” the judge said.
Mapisa-Nqakula said that the wig in the photograph was styled to look like braids and was tied backwards. She said she wore wigs for particular occasions but generally wore a doek or natural hair.
She said Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu had promised to find her the wig she wanted.
“I left with a promise from her that she will indeed find me the wig that I desired,” Mapisa-Nqakula said. According to her evidence, there was no payment involved in obtaining the wig.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu eventually delivered it while Mapisa-Nqakula was at OR Tambo International Airport preparing to travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The wig, Mapisa-Nqakula said, was in a small transparent bag with a string and was immediately handed over to one of her team members.
Siyabulela Mapoma SC, representing the former speaker, put it to Mapisa-Nqakula that Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu had previously testified that the former minister shouted at her during the lounge drop-off because she was late.
“There is no such a thing,” Mapisa-Nqakula said.
/file/attachments/orphans/ED_543157_371828.png "Former National Assembly Speaker and Defence Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula at the Pretoria High Court, she is appearing on charges related to fraud. (Photo: Gallo Images/Beeld/Deaan Vivier)")
She rejected the suggestion that she would have berated Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu after receiving the wig.
“Yes, I am a strict or harsh person, but I know when to exercise that. You cannot be offered a wig and now when they bring it to you, you berate them. Instead of doing that, you would be thankful. I am not that kind of a person,” she said.
A relationship beyond business
Mapisa-Nqakula has also testified about a personal relationship with Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu that went beyond their dealings around defence contracts. She told the court about several visits by Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu to her Bruma home, where the businesswoman allegedly confided in her about personal problems.
Mapisa-Nqakula said Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu regarded her as an elderly person, a traditional healer and someone in a stable marriage who could offer guidance. Among the issues Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu allegedly discussed with her were difficulties in her marriage and problems involving her sister.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she did not intervene in those family disputes and instead advised Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu to involve the elders in the family.
During her testimony, Mapoma put it to her that Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu had given the court a different account, saying she was the one helping Mapisa-Nqakula with her own personal and marital problems.
“That is ridiculous, my lady. I have been married to that man for 44 years,” Mapisa-Nqakula responded.
‘Throw the bones’
The court has also heard evidence about Mapisa-Nqakula seeking guidance from Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu as a practising sangoma.
Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu previously testified that Mapisa-Nqakula was concerned about her political future during a period of uncertainty over an imminent Cabinet reshuffle.
She said Mapisa-Nqakula asked her to “throw the bones” to find out what would happen to her ministerial position.
According to Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, she performed the ritual and told Mapisa-Nqakula that the bones indicated she would remain in the Cabinet.
She has pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations. The trial continues. DM
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