South Africa’s parliamentary speaker faces imminent arrest over graft charges after court bid fails

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME
Associated Press

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s parliamentary speaker faces imminent arrest over corruption charges after a court on Tuesday dismissed her bid to block police and prosecutors from arresting her. Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who is a senior member of the ruling African National Congress party, is accused of receiving bribes from a defense contractor while she was defense minister. According to prosecutors, she received 11 payments totaling $135,000 between December 2016 and July 2019. She sought another bribe of $105,000 but that wasn’t paid, prosecutors said. Mapisa-Nqakula last week launched an urgent court bid to block her imminent arrest, but a judge dismissed her application on Tuesday.