South Africa: Ex-Defence Minister Mapisa-Nqakula Denies Asking for R2m to Promote General

8 September 2026
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Nonkululeko Njilo

Mapisa-Nqakula says she never asked Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu for money and told the court her husband was 'unappointable' for the position he wanted despite serving in the SANDF for almost three decades.

Former National Assembly Speaker and defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on Tuesday addressed one of the State's key allegations against her: that she asked businesswoman and State witness Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu for R2-million to help secure a promotion in the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) for Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu's husband.

Mapisa-Nqakula - who faces 12 counts of corruption and one of money laundering - hesitated before answering questions from her defence counsel, advocate Siyabulela Mapoma SC, regarding the alleged R2-million bribe request.

"I am quite baffled," she said. "So this means that from the group of people that I had promoted at the time in the position I was in [defence minister], I had gone around asking for monies? I never asked for money from Nombasa."

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She told the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria that Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu's husband, Major General (retired) Noel Ndhlovu, a senior military doctor who served in the SANDF for more than 26 years, was "unappointable".

Explaining to Judge Mashudu Munzhelele why Ndhlovu was passed over for promotion during her tenure, she testified: "Firstly, he never received the clearance. The fact that he was a deputy did not automatically mean that ... he would be the head.

"Secondly, he...

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