The South African National Defence Force (SANDF), major general we exposed last week for allegedly flouting protocol to sneak former speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s application to have her legal bills in her corruption trial paid by the department was caught on tape on Monday, saying he would do it again.
“What happened? I will do it again because it was the right thing,” Major-General Eric Mnisi can be heard saying in an audio recording leaked to Sunday World.
Mnisi, the head of legal service in the SANDF, was addressing members of the legal division at the School of Military Justice in Thaba Tshwane.
In the recording, Mnisi states that he is confiding in the members about the fiasco.
He informed the members that he has served in the defence force for approximately 35 years and is preparing to retire, emphasising that his actions follow established protocols.
“There’s no minister; there is no sec def (secretary of defence) who signs this; it is only an operational issue. Every month we go and account,” Mnisi said.
Mnisi appealed to the members to feel pity for Mapisa-Nqakula, who is now unemployed.
“The former minister is in a worse situation than me; I am still a general, and I am still a soldier. She is an ordinary citizen. The fact that she was a minister or speaker. She isn’t like that; she is like my mom now. She doesn’t have any skhundla (position). She is an ordinary South African. She applied.”
Mnisi added that Mapisa-Nqakula, who stands accused of accepting bribes in hard cash to the tune of R4.5-million and other gifts including a wig from SANDF contractors while she was a defence minister, said all of these happened when she “was still in the employment of the state and is entitled to legal representation”.
“We said, send your application to us,” Mnisi added.
Mnisi said Mapisa-Nqakula has already appointed her own law firm and counsel, and he had to contact the state attorney’s office for their consideration, decision and advice.
But Mnisi did all of these things without consulting the defence minister, Thandi Modise, or the defence secretary, Dr Thobekile Gamede, who became aware of his clandestine moves when Sunday World sent them questions last Thursday.
Modise, in a press statement, said Mnisi’s handling of the matter without following existing protocols is tantamount to disrespecting executive authority in the department of defence.
Amos Phago, a spokesperson for Modise, said on Friday that the minister has ordered Gamede to look into Mnisi’s behaviour.
“No formal decision has been made yet on the former speaker’s application, and no action has been taken against General Mnisi. The minister wouldn’t want to be seen doing things in a haphazard manner like she was trying to avenge something,” Phago said.
He confirmed that there is a scheduled SANDF cluster meeting today, but only to discuss elections. “We wouldn’t entertain anything that has nothing to do with elections,” he said.
Phago also confirmed that the ministry was made aware of Mnisi’s recording and would deal with it at the appropriate time.
