Former defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula says she kept quiet for years to protect the ANC, but now claims she was unfairly portrayed as a rogue minister after being instructed to join an ANC delegation to Zimbabwe in 2020.
Image: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
Former Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has broken her silence on the controversial 2020 Zimbabwe trip, saying President Cyril Ramaphosa sent her and an ANC delegation to Zimbabwe aboard a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) aircraft, only to later throw her under the bus.
She spoke during an interview on the African Renaissance Podcast, hosted by former Economic Freedom Fighters MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.
The matter relates to an official trip to Harare in September 2020.
At the time, several ANC national executive committee (NEC) members were accused of abusing state resources after travelling on a South African Air Force jet to a bilateral engagement with counterparts from Zimbabwe’s ruling party, Zanu-PF.
The delegation included senior government and ANC NEC members tasked with engaging Zimbabwe’s governing party over unrest gripping the country at the time.
The Presidency had approved Mapisa-Nqakula’s visit to Harare to meet her Zimbabwean counterpart on regional security issues.
However, the trip sparked outrage after she allowed ANC officials to travel on the military aircraft, despite not having formal authority to do so.
Mapisa-Nqakula faced criticism from the Presidency, civil society organisations and opposition parties.
The fallout led to her being docked three months’ salary.
In August 2021, Ramaphosa reshuffled his Cabinet, removing Mapisa-Nqakula as defence minister and replacing her with Thandi Modise.
Mapisa-Nqakula later served as Speaker of the National Assembly from August 2021 until April 2024.
Speaking on the podcast, she said few people knew the full story because she had never spoken publicly about it.
“I protected my movement because that’s how I was trained … to always protect the African National Congress,” she said.
She denied the trip was a “jolly ride”, saying South Africa was under Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions and the ANC needed to consult with its counterparts in Zimbabwe.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she was approached by a senior ANC figure sent by Ramaphosa to ask her to join the delegation.
“So the president sends a person I respect very much … to come and talk to me about considering going to Zimbabwe and joining the delegation,” she said.
At the time, she said, she and her husband had tested positive for Covid-19, although neither was seriously ill.
She said ANC envoys previously sent to Zimbabwe had been turned back without delivering their message.
“I’m not a person who says no to the organisation,” she said.
According to Mapisa-Nqakula, there were no commercial flights operating because of strict lockdown restrictions, leaving the SANDF aircraft as the only practical option.
Zimbabwe had initially proposed that the meeting be held in the Kruger National Park, but she said Ramaphosa insisted the delegation travel to Zimbabwe instead.
She said she agreed to travel only if the entire ANC delegation could accompany her on the defence force aircraft.
“I wasn’t going to fly alone and leave the rest of the delegation behind,” she said.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she informed Ramaphosa before departure and that he assisted in securing landing clearance from Zimbabwean authorities, including intervention by Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
However, she said she was shocked upon returning to South Africa to find media reports accusing her of misconduct.
“All TV stations, media houses, everybody is talking about a minister of defence who has gone rogue,” she said.
The following day, she learned Ramaphosa had issued a public statement giving her 48 hours to explain the use of the SANDF aircraft.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she immediately phoned both Ramaphosa and the chief of the SANDF.
“I said, ‘Mr President, I didn’t go to Zimbabwe on a jolly ride,’” she recalled.
According to her account, Ramaphosa acknowledged concerns about the wording of the statement and blamed “overzealous” advisers.
“But you’ve signed the letter,” she said she told him.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she chose not to publicly contradict the president because she feared creating “a constitutional crisis” for the ANC.
She said the matter was later investigated by the Public Protector, who ruled against her.
“You never heard once this person calling a media briefing and explaining herself,” she said.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she eventually addressed ANC NEC members before the party’s 2022 elective conference, where she detailed what had happened.
She said Fikile Mbalula later told NEC members he had been unaware of the full circumstances surrounding the trip.
According to Mapisa-Nqakula, the Presidency instructed that the ANC reimburse the state for the flight costs. She said the ANC, under then-treasurer-general Paul Mashatile, paid about R140,000 to the SANDF after costs were calculated.
“It had everything to do with the African National Congress,” she said.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she ultimately felt betrayed by the ANC leadership.
“I felt so used by my organisation,” she said.
She also reflected on the July 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, defending the deployment of the SANDF after consultation between Ramaphosa and political parties.
“On day one of the deployment of the Defence Force, everything just came to a standstill,” she said.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she believed the unrest involved “pockets of counter-revolution”, but stopped short of describing it as a full insurrection against the state.
simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za
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