Former South Africa National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula was granted R50,000 (about US$2,700) bail by a Pretoria magistrate on Thursday, hours after she handed herself to the police to answer corruption charges.
Mapisa-Nqakula, who stepped aside as speaker of the National Assembly late last month, faces 12 charges of corruption and one of money laundering.
The charges emanating from allegations that she received more than R2 million in kickbacks from a former defence contractor during the time she was defence minister between 2012 and 2021.
The former speaker denies the charges.
The arrest and court appearance came more than a week after operatives from the National Prosecuting Authority raided Mapisa-Nqakula’s Johannesburg home looking for evidence linking her to the crime.
JN/APA