Former defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula in the dock in the Pretoria High Court.
The key witness in the corruption trial of former speaker of Parliament, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, revealed to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, some of the alleged bribes she paid to her while she was the minister of defence.
Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu - the State's star witness - was at the time of the alleged offences, the sole director of Umkhombe Marine Pty Ltd. She held a tender with the SANDF to provide logistics services to the defence force.
She told the court how she paid Mapisa-Nqakula large sums of cash after she had obtained the R79 million tender. According to the witness, the former minister often used coded language when she requested money.
According to her, the former minister suggested that they use the coded language when they had conversations about money, which included words such as “padkos”, “wig” and the African name for African sage. The court heard that some of the money was also wrapped up as gifts.
