South Africa: Parliament Speaker takes leave to evade corruption probe

South African parliament Speaker asked for a special leave to avoid arrest after her home was raided as part of a corruption probe.

Her case highlights rampant corruption within the ruling ANC elites as the country braces for presidential elections in two months, amid failing public services such as electricity and water supply.

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, a veteran of the ruling African National Congress, asked for the leave to avoid arrest as investigations are ongoing into her tenure as defense minister from 2012 to 2021.

“Given the seriousness of the allegations and the attendant extensive media speculation, I have decided to take special leave from my position as speaker of the National Assembly, effective immediately,” Mapisa-Nqakula said in a statement.

Mapisa-Nqakula has also filed court papers to avoid arrest, South African paper the Daily Maverick reported.

Her corruption case emerged in 2019 when a whistleblower accused her of asking for bribes.