After weeks dominated by the testimony of defence contractor Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, the corruption trial of former defence minister and National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula shifted this week to the witnesses prosecutors say corroborate her account. Mapisa-Nqakula has pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering. The State alleges she solicited and received about R4.5 million from Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu between 2016 and 2019 in return for using her position as defence minister to benefit the contractor's company, Umkhombe Marine. Retired Major General Dr Noel Ndhlovu, Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu's husband and former deputy surgeon general of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), emerged as one of the prosecution's key witnesses. His testimony centred on the allegation that Mapisa-Nqakula demanded R2 million from Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu to secure his promotion to surgeon general.