Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has come under fire for allowing an ANC delegation to hitch a lift on a South African National Defence Force jet to Zimbabwe.
Minister of Defence Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. Picture: GCIS.
CAPE TOWN – The African National Congress (ANC) in Parliament has come out in support of Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
Mapisa-Nqakula has come under fire for allowing a party delegation to hitch a lift on a South African National Defense Force (SANDF) jet to Zimbabwe.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has also asked the minister to explain the circumstances that led to her sharing the Harare-bound flight with a senior ANC delegation.
While the party has since committed to paying for using the defence force jet, the party’s study group on defence still believes the minister broke no law.
Whip of the ANC study group Thabo Mmutle said the trip was already scheduled to take place, whether the ANC delegation was on board or not.
“When we applied our limited legal understanding, we could not find any prescript of the law that the minister has broken with regard to her action by giving the ANC delegation a lift to Zimbabwe.”
Mapisa-Nqakula has also indicated that the working visit to Zimbabwe was now the subject of an investigation by the Public Protector and her office was co-operating with the process.
The minister is also expected to brief Parliament’s defence committee.