Former South Africa Speaker Faces Corruption Charges

South Africa's former parliament speaker was charged with corruption and money laundering, piling new pressure on the governing African National Congress (ANC) party ahead of elections in May.

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who resigned her speaker post, appeared before a court in Pretoria after she turned herself in to police and was formally arrested.

"Charges against Ms Mapisa-Nqakula are 12 counts of corruption and one of money laundering," Bheki Manyathi of the National Prosecuting Authority told the court.

Wearing a yellow and blue dress and matching head-cover as she sat in the dock, the 67-year-old ANC veteran remained silent, and was later granted release on bail.

"I'm not at flight risk," she said in a statement read by her lawyer Graham Kerr-Phillips. "I will receive a state pension which I cannot afford to lose," she added, while describing the case against her as weak.

Coming just under two months before national elections, the case has added to the woes of the ANC.

Mapisa-Nqakula, is the latest in a string of senior ANC politicians, including President Cyril Ramaphosa and his vice president, to become embroiled in corruption scandals.

She is accused of soliciting hefty bribes from a former military contractor during her previous tenure as defense minister, from 2014 to 2021. She denies the allegations.

The judge set bail at 50,000 rand and adjourned the case to June 4. Mapisa-Nqakula will have to hand in her passport and avoid any contact with state witnesses.

Mapisa-Nqakula resigned as parliament speaker and as a lawmaker with immediate effect, a day after losing a court bid to prevent her possible arrest.

The move followed a March raid carried out by members of a top investigative team at Mapisa-Nqakula's residence, a high-end property in an eastern suburb of Johannesburg.

Parliament said she would be replaced by her deputy, Lechesa Tsenoli.