Speaker of South Africa parliament resigns over corruption probe

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, speaker of the South African parliament, has resigned from her position amid a corruption probe against her.

Mapisa-Nqakula tendered her resignation on Wednesday and also stepped down as a member of the parliament.

“My resignation is in no way an indication or admission of guilt regarding the allegations being levelled against me,” she said in a statement.

Mapisa-Nqakula is alleged to have requested bribes in exchange for the awarding of contracts during her tenure as defence minister.

She was defence minister between 2012 and 2021.

Last month, security operatives raided her home as part of the corruption investigation.

On Tuesday, she failed in a bid to prevent authorities from apprehending her.

Mapisa-Nqakula’s resignation comes weeks before next month’s election in the country.

Political analysts say the election may be difficult for the governing African National Congress (ANC) which has been in power since 1994.

The party has faced corruption allegations, including misappropriation of public funds.

The speaker’s probe is one of the high-profile corruption cases in South Africa.

In 2021, a constitutional court sentenced Jacob Zuma, former president of South Africa, to 15 months in jail over contempt of court.

Zuma was forced to step down as president in 2018 over corruption allegations.

He was later released on medical parole but a high court ruling set aside the parole decision and ordered him to return to jail.

In August 2023, Zuma was released from jail due to overcrowding in the prison.