Parliament speaker of South Africa Mapisa-Nqakula, resigned on Wednesday and gave up her position in the assembly due to accusations of corruption.
She had lost a legal battle the day before to prevent her arrest.
Last Monday, prosecutors announced their plan to file charges of corruption against Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
They claim that during her three years as defence minister, she accepted payments totaling approximately $135, 000 from a defence contractor.
Between December 2016 and July 2019, she is said to have received the payments; however, a further $105,000 bribe was not given.
In a statement, Mapisa-Nqakula declared that she had submitted her resignation, but she maintained that she was innocent of the charges levied against her.
“I have made this conscious decision in order to dedicate my time and focus to deal with the recently announced investigation against me by our country’s law enforcement agencies,” she said. “My resignation is in no way an indication or admission of guilt regarding the allegations being levelled against me.”
According to South African media sources, she allegedly once received a wig and more than $15,000 during a meeting at the nation’s main international airport in February 2019.
Anger over several accusations of corruption against its leaders, high unemployment, and growing poverty are the backdrops for Mapisa-Nqakula’s party, the African National Congress, which is scheduled to compete in important elections this year.
According to recent polls, the party may earn fewer than 50% of the vote, which would be the lowest percentage since it won the first all-race election in 1994 to end apartheid.
Following Mapisa-Nqakula’s declaration, it was unclear if she would be arrested or turn herself in to the police when the North Gauteng High Court denied her request to avoid
