‘SA Speaker not in police custody’-Lawyer

Lawyer for the Speaker of South Africa Parliament has denied media reports claiming that the Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has handed herself to police.

Ms Mapisa-Nqakula’s lawyer has now told the BBC that this is not true.

Ms Mapisa-Nqakula announced on Thursday that she would take special leave after investigators raided her house earlier in the week as part of a corruption probe.

The Speaker has also described her corruption investigation is politically motivated.

The probe was sparked by accusations that Ms Mapisa-Nqakula had solicited bribes in return for awarding contracts when she served as defence minister.

Mr May said Ms Mapisa-Nqakula and her team were demanding access to the prosecutors’ case file in order to better understand the allegations against her.