--- title: "Wig or R300,000? Mapisa-Nqakula gives her version of disputed airport handover" description: "Testifying on Tuesday, former defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula admitted she had asked for a wig and followed up twice to find out when it would arrive, while the State’s witness says the hair was delivered with R300,000 tucked underneath it." 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/2026-09-08-wig-or-r300000-mapisa-nqakula-gives-her-version-of-disputed-airport-handover/" published: "2026-09-08T12:59:01" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 927 --- # Wig or R300,000? Mapisa-Nqakula gives her version of disputed airport handover > Testifying on Tuesday, former defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula admitted she had asked for a wig and followed up twice to find out when it would arrive, while the State’s witness says the hair was delivered with R300,000 tucked underneath it. By Nonkululeko Njilo · Published 8 September 2026, 14:59 SAST ## Key points - Mapisa-Nqakula told the Pretoria High Court the disputed “wig” was a genuine hairpiece she asked businesswoman Nombasa Ntsondwa‑Ndhlovu to source after admiring her hairstyle – handed to an aide at OR Tambo and, she says, no payment was involved. - The State says otherwise: Ntsondwa‑Ndhlovu testified that “wig” was a code for cash and that R300,000 was concealed beneath a wig in a bag – evidence central to the former minister’s 12 corruption counts and one money‑laundering charge. - Judge Mashudu Munzhelele pressed Mapisa‑Nqakula on inconsistencies, noting a September 2018 photo of her in a wig despite her claim she normally wears a doek or natural hair; she insists wigs are for special occasions. - Mapisa‑Nqakula also described a personal relationship with Ntsondwa‑Ndhlovu – home visits, confiding and even sangoma rituals – pleaded not guilty; the trial continues. ## Content 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. [Read more Mapisa-Nqakula’s bid to walk free fails as ‘cash and coded messages’ survive court test September 7, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/RJfongdaEIVJ95Si3GoDrRVrby0=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/Nonku-MapisaVerdict_806724.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-09-07-mapisa-nqakulas-bid-to-walk-free-fails-as-cash-and-coded-messages-survive-court-test/) 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. [Read more Cash, codes and a wig: Mapisa-Nqakula finally faces her corruption trial July 22, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/Tuzjd9iNp6H3CFFsMZHD5p9ItZA=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/ED_543155_209242.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-07-22-cash-codes-and-a-wig-mapisa-nqakula-finally-faces-her-corruption-trial/) 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. ![Nonku-MapisaNqakula](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/puR7sgvBdJDGdcNS5BMpYqBvZiQ=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/ED_543157_371828.png) *Former National Assembly speaker and defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula at the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria. (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. [Read more A R2m promotion that never came: General testifies how career unravelled August 3, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/fPGGjqWrl-w4oBmMCYr2Z6IYfnA=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/RC2648AQMMLL_276557.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-03-a-r2m-promotion-that-never-came-general-testifies-how-career-unravelled/) ### **‘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**