SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing renewed scrutiny over a controversial Zimbabwe trip after former Defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula broke her silence, claiming she was deployed by the ANC and not acting on a “jolly ride.”
Ramaphosa’s unannounced visit to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s private farm has sparked widespread backlash, with critics condemning the timing as Zimbabwe’s ruling party pushes constitutional amendments to extend presidential term limits.
Critics also lashed out at the presence of controversial businessmen in Mnangagwa’s entourage.
The Democratic Alliance, Ramaphosa’s partners in the Government of National Unity, questioned the absence of public condemnation following recent arrests of Zimbabwean opposition figures.
Ramaphosa’s office later issued a disclaimer stating he had no prior knowledge of who would be in attendance.
According to an IOL report, Mapisa-Nqakula, speaking on the African Renaissance Podcast hosted by former Economic Freedom Fighters MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, said few people knew the full story of the 2020 trip because she had never spoken publicly about it.
“I protected my movement because that’s how I was trained … to always protect the African National Congress,” she said.
She also denied the trip was a “jolly ride”, saying South Africa was under Level 5 COVID-19 restrictions and the ANC needed to consult with its counterparts in Zimbabwe.
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The matter relates to an official trip to Harare in September 2020.
At the time, several ANC national executive committee (NEC) members allegedly abused State resources after travelling on a South African Air Force jet to a bilateral engagement with their Zanu PF counterparts.
The delegation included senior government and ANC NEC members tasked with engaging Zimbabwe’s governing party over unrest gripping the country at the time.
The presidency had approved Mapisa-Nqakula’s visit to Harare to meet her Zimbabwean counterpart on regional security issues.
The trip, however, sparked outrage after she allowed ANC officials to travel on the military aircraft, despite not having formal authority to do so.
Mapisa-Nqakula faced criticism from the presidency, civil society organisations and opposition parties.
The fallout led to her being docked three months’ salary.
In August 2021, Ramaphosa reshuffled his Cabinet, removing Mapisa-Nqakula as Defence minister and replacing her with Thandi Modise.
Mapisa-Nqakula later served as Speaker of the National Assembly from August 2021 to April 2024.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she was approached by a senior ANC figure sent by Ramaphosa to ask her to join the delegation.
“So the president sends a person I respect very much … to come and talk to me about considering going to Zimbabwe and joining the delegation,” she said.
At the time, she said, she and her husband had tested positive for COVID-19, although neither was seriously ill.
She said ANC envoys previously sent to Zimbabwe were turned back without delivering their message.
“I’m not a person who says no to the organisation,” she said.
Mapisa-Nqakula also said no commercial flights were operating because of strict lockdown restrictions, leaving the SANDF aircraft as the only practical option.
Reports also indicated that Zimbabwe had initially proposed that the meeting be held in the Kruger National Park, but she said Ramaphosa insisted the delegation travel to Zimbabwe instead.
She said she agreed to travel only if the entire ANC delegation accompanied her on the defence force aircraft.
“I wasn’t going to fly alone and leave the rest of the delegation behind,” she said.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she informed Ramaphosa before departure, adding that he assisted on securing landing clearance from Zimbabwean authorities, including the intervention of Mnangagwa.
However, she said she was shocked on returning to South Africa to find media reports accusing her of misconduct.
“All TV stations, media houses, everybody is talking about a Minister of Defence who has gone rogue,” she said.
The following day, she learned Ramaphosa had issued a public statement giving her 48 hours to explain the use of the SANDF aircraft.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she immediately phoned Ramaphosa and the chief of SANDF.
“I said, ‘Mr President, I didn’t go to Zimbabwe on a jolly ride,’” she recalled.
According to her account, Ramaphosa acknowledged concerns about the wording of the statement and blamed “overzealous” advisers.
“But you’ve signed the letter,” she said she told him.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she chose not to publicly contradict the president because she feared creating “a constitutional crisis” for the ANC.
She said the matter was later investigated by the Public Protector, who ruled against her.
“You never heard this person calling a media briefing and explaining herself,” she said.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she eventually addressed ANC NEC members before the party’s 2022 elective conference, where she detailed what had happened.
She said Fikile Mbalula later told NEC members he had been unaware of the full circumstances surrounding the trip.
According to Mapisa-Nqakula, the presidency instructed that ANC reimburses the State for flight costs. She said ANC, under then-treasurer-general Paul Mashatile, paid about R140 000 to SANDF after costs were calculated.
“It had everything to do with the African National Congress,” she said.
Mapisa-Nqakula said she ultimately felt betrayed by the ANC leadership.
“I felt so used by my organisation,” she said.
