Pretoria high court dismisses Mapisa-Nqakula’s urgent bid to interdict her arrest 

National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s urgent application to interdict the National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi, Police Minister Bheki Cele and investigators from arresting her has been struck off the roll in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Speaker’s corruption saga another nail in coffin of public trust in government

Delivering the ruling in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday, Judge Sulet Potterill said Mapisa-Nqakula’s application was not urgent and the Court could not make a finding on “speculation” that her future arrest will be unlawful or that the state’s case is weak.

“There is not a single fact set out as to why the future arrest will be unlawful. Seemingly because there’s a weak case made out. Yet the applicant [Mapisa-Nqakula] does not know what case has been set out and this is pure speculation. I can make no finding on such speculation that there will be an unlawful arrest or that there is a weak case. These facts cannot underpin urgency,” Judge Potterill said.

Judge Potterill noted that if the Court were to grant such an order “the floodgates will be opened” for suspects to interdict their arrests on the grounds that they are unlawful and the cases against them are weak.

“The respondents argued that it would not be competent for this Court to interdict an arrest — I’m in full agreement with this submission… Every suspect will be in a position to approach a court on an urgent basis, setting out on speculation that there is a weak case against it, and interdict an arrest. Any suspect would merely have to set out in a founding affidavit that an arrest in future will be unlawful. The whole criminal justice system will fail and will be controlled by suspects,” she said.

The judge struck Mapisa-Nqakula’s application from the roll and ordered her to pay costs.

Mapisa-Nqakula had filed court papers on Friday, 22 March, seeking to interdict Batohi, Cele and investigators from arresting her amid speculation about her possible arrest over claims that she had solicited bribes from a defence contractor between 2017 and 2019 while she was defence minister.

She has continuously denied wrongdoing but has since taken special leave from her position as Speaker of the National Assembly.

Last week, it emerged in court papers that the ID was ready to charge Mapisa-Nqakula with 12 counts of corruption totalling R4.55-million. In an affidavit, ID deputy director of public prosecutions Bheki Manyathi also referenced the search and seizure operation which was conducted at Mapisa-Nqakula’s Johannesburg home on Tuesday, 19 March.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Speaker Mapisa-Nqakula’s home raided; Ramaphosa sidesteps questions on State Capture inaction

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-8J4IJuBRk&t=1s

On Tuesday, Judge Potterill said that Mapisa-Nqakula had been given ample time to present herself to the police station, but has “failed to do so for two weeks”.

She added that Mapisa-Nqakula has been afforded the courtesy of handing herself over to the authorities. “This is already a courtesy and an exception to what ordinary citizens are afforded,” said Judge Potterill. DM