Mike Ramagoma, who is special advisor to former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, still insists that the case against her is weak.
“This is a case about somebody who after realising that she is facing her own trial regarding investigations that were carried out by the Department of Defence, decided to implicate Mapisa-Nqakula so as to be granted Section 204 status and avoid prosecution,” said Ramagoma as he bemoaned the actions of the witness in the case against Mapisa-Nqakula
“The case against Mapisa-Nqakula is based on flimsy evidence and therefore weak,” he said.
Ramagoma made the aforementioned statement yesterday, just hours after Mapisa- Nqakula was granted a R50 000 bail after being charged with corruption and money-laundering at the Pretria Magistrates Court.
In March this year the Sunday Times alleged that the witness in this case is Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndlovu, who is married to a general in the military health services.
“We tried to interdict Mapisa-Nqakula’s arrest because we wanted to know the nature of the case so that she (Mapisa-Nqakula) would make up her own mind as to the course of action she would take,” said Ramagoma.
“What we have realised is that pressure was put on Mapisa-Nqakula through deliberate leaks to the media to try and build momentum for a case which had not been disclosed to her, thus forcing her to feel that she cannot continue to be seen as a person who is avoiding taking accountability regarding charges levelled at her,” lamented Ramagoma.
He said this led to her resigning her post as Speaker of the National Assembly, handing herself to the police and being charged before any statement was received from her and also before she was informed of the actual nature of the case against her.
Ramagoma said the law-enforcement agencies made wild accusations against Mapisa-Nqakula, went to the media, the media applied pressure and public opinion turned against her, forcing her to hand herself over the police.
He revealed that it was only after Mapisa-Nqakula’s appearance in court that she was furnished with a list of items that the law-enforcement agencies were looking for during their search and seizure operation at her house in Bruma, on the East Rand.
The items, according to Ramagoma, included a wig, a bag covering the said wig, cash exceeding R20 000 in local and foreign currency, skin of a bear with claws and head as well as documents related to renovations at the former Speaker’s house.
Ramagoma emphasised that the law-enforcement officers didn’t find any of the items they were looking for and merely took away some documents.
“The people who were part of the search and seizure operation left the place dejectedly as they were trying to bolster an already weak case but couldn’t find the items that they wanted to use against Mapisa-Nqakula,” he said.
Ramagoma insisted that the issue of disclosure of the required information by the investigators as highlighted by Mapisa-Nqakula is very important and that it is interesting to realise that it keeps being pushed back by using procedure,” he said.
Refusal to disclose this information to Mapisa-Nqakula, according to Ramagoma, is to force her to defend herself in the dark, have curve balls thrown at her, be pressurised to answer certain things in the public through the media without knowing what the actual case is with the hope that she would incriminate herself.
“If there was no problem affecting the investigators’ case, they would have easily disclosed information requested by Mapisa Nqakula,” he said.
“We are seriously considering what measures to take in order to seek and get the required disclosure from the investigators,” vowed Ramagoma.
I think this guy must quit what he’s smoking. Cause mo one will forced herself to resign if she had done nothing