Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula hands herself over to the authorities

Less than 24 hours after resigning as the speaker of the National Assembly, the corruption-accused Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula made her first appearance in the Pretoria Magistrates Court to face 12 charges of corruption and one charge of money laundering. The charges levelled against Mapisa-Nqakula include allegedly soliciting bribes from a contractor. Kerr-Phillips appealed to Magistrate Anna Oosthuizen to release his client on R50,000 bail, given Mapisa-Nqakula’s status as a pensioner. The state, on the other hand, is pursuing R100,000 bail. After a short recess Magistrate Oosthuizen granted Mapisa-Nqakula R50 000 bail, stating that the court is satisfied that the accused made her case as to why she should be released. Political analyst Sandile Swana shares his analysis on this matter.