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Speaker of Parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula
Photo: Rodger Bosch / AP
Almost two months before the general election in South Africa, Parliament Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who came under pressure because of corruption allegations, announced her resignation. Mapisa-Nqakula's party, the ruling African National Congress (ANC), announced that the 67-year-old has submitted a resignation.
The outgoing speaker of parliament is accused of accepting large sums of money from a defense company during her time as defense minister between 2014 and 2021. Two weeks ago, investigators searched Mapisa-Nqakula's home in an eastern suburb of Johannesburg. The 67-year-old rejects the allegations.
In South Africa, a new parliament will be elected on May 29th, which will then appoint a new president. Polls suggest the ANC could lose its absolute majority for the first time since 1994. Mapisa-Nqakula is the latest in a string of senior ANC politicians - including President Cyril Ramaphosa and vice-president Paul Mashatile - to be caught up in bribery scandals.
lpz/AFP