South Africa’s former speaker of parliament was arrested on Thursday and charged with multiple corruption charges, a day after resigning.

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s arrest is another blow to the reputation of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which is preparing for what is expected to be South Africa’s most controversial election since the end of apartheid. Preparing for the election.

Mapisa-Nqakula, a 67-year-old veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle, resigned as speaker of the House of Representatives on Wednesday night and handed himself in at a police station on Thursday.

She was charged with 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering while she was defense minister. She is accused of accepting approximately $120,000 worth of bribes from a former military contractor to secure the contract.

Mapisa-Nqakula, who was released on bail after appearing in court, denied any wrongdoing but said she resigned to protect her party.

ANC spokesman Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri thanked her for her resignation in a statement. “We thank everyone involved in the review process and we continue to put the rule of law first,” she said.

The scandal could not have come at a worse time for the ANC.

The party has controlled the president and parliament for 30 years and is expected to get less than 50% of the vote for the first time in the May 29 election.

Multiple opinion polls show Nelson Mandela’s once-legendary party losing support due to numerous corruption scandals, among other reasons.