Speaker of the South African Parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has denied allegations she took bribes over three years while defence minister.
Prosecutors said on Tuesday they were charging her with corruption, alleging she took $135,000 (£107,000) and a wig in bribes over a three-year period while she was defence minister.
But she has not been arrested.
The prosecutors spoke at a court hearing over her claims that authorities had not properly informed her of allegations or followed correct procedure.
The judge was expected to rule on a stay of arrest earlier on Monday.
In court papers submitted for the hearing, prosecutors say Mapisa-Nqakula received 11 payments totalling $135,000 between December 2016 and July 2019. She sought another bribe of $105,000 but that wasn’t paid, prosecutors said.
On one occasion in February 2019, Mapisa-Nqakula received more than $15,000 and a wig at a meeting at the country’s main international airport, the papers say.
The person who allegedly paid the bribes was not named.
Prosecutors gave her the opportunity to hand herself in at a police station and be taken to court to be formally charged. They said they would not oppose her bail.
She has taken a leave of absence from her role as speaker. She was previously accused of taking bribes, but a parliamentary investigation was dropped in 2021.
The case re-emerged after a whistleblower came forward last year, prosecutors said.
Her case is the latest corruption scandal to hit the ruling African National Congress party, which faces a pivotal national election on May 29.