This is following the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) securing a guilty plea from Mapalala in January 2023. He faces charges of corruption and bribery after attempting to bribe a Special Investigating Unit investigator to make a Covid-19 procurement investigation disappear against Gugu Bulungu.

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He was arrested in August 2021 during a joint operation with a Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) when he delivered a bribe of R50 000 to the investigator. It is alleged that Bulungu, the director of two companies, was questioned about payments linked to government officials. Bulungu denied the allegations and hours later, Mapalala called the investigator to negotiate.

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In his guilty plea to the NPA, he admitted to offer money to the investigator. “I knew it was wrong to provide money/payment to the investigator, as she was an official of the SIU. I gave this money to her to compensate ‘other’ people the investigator referred to in order to crush the involvement of Gugu Bulungu. I wanted to help Gugu get out of the mess which caused her severe anxiety and threat to her life. I, therefore, admit that I corrupted the investigator and my actions were unlawful and punishable,” he wrote.