SSA it ain’t so

How a spy agency was allegedly used to settle a domestic dust-up [View this email in your browser]( January 27, 2021 [Mail & Guardian]( [Mail & Guardian]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( Hi there, One of the more illustrious adventures the writers of this newsletter have had at the Mail & Guardian involved scripting the death of Jacob Zuma. No, that wasn’t our wish — rather it was based on the former president’s assertion that he had, in fact, died. Back in 2017, then No 1 told the ANC cadres forum that three attempts had been made on his life. After ingesting multiple doses of poison — administered by someone close to him — he declared, “I was dead.” Scientists, he said, could not understand why one JG Zuma still roamed the Earth. Co-writing for the [M&G’s cheeky cartoon series Pimples]( we tried to offer Msholozi an explanation as to why he was sent back to the land of the living. Reclining at home, we see him sipping on a bottle of Dubai’s Finest Wine, as he is wont to do, before realising it has been tainted and then swiftly croaking. But on arriving at the Pearly Gates he is met by esteemed predecessor Nelson Mandela, who boots him off the clouds in his literal interpretation of “Zuma Must Fall”. At the time, it felt like harmless amusement and an easy way to poke fun at the president’s outlandish politicking. This week, however, we learned there were far more pernicious consequences to arise from his claims. The Zondo commission heard on Tuesday, as Emma Balfour reports, that the State Security Agency (SSA) was [flagrantly abused to further the agendas of Zuma]( and his cohort. Acting director general Loyiso Jafta told a dismayed Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo that one of those schemes involved the persecution of one of the first ladies. Jafta noted that Zuma might not have directly ordered transgressions, but that several agents broke the rules in a bid to please him. After the president complained that individuals’ security vetting was taking a very long time, the process was sped up to issue clearance within mere days in some cases. And when he suspected one of his wives of poisoning him, the SSA was roped into the investigation and subsequently detained Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma. When Ntuli-Zuma was questioned by police about a plot to poison her husband, it turned into one of South Africa’s most sensational news stories of 2015. MaNtuli became Zuma’s fourth wife when she married him in 2008 in a traditional ceremony that received plenty of media attention in the run-up to Zuma’s bid for the presidency. In April 2010, she was fined a goat as punishment for bad behaviour. The goat was allegedly presented to Zuma as an apology for offending him, after reports that she was unhappy with the president taking another wife. When the poison palaver began, she was instructed to leave his Nkandla homestead. The order did not come from Zuma but from then State Security Minister David Mahlobo, who informed her that such a sensitive investigation needed to be conducted without her being present. Domestic intrigues may not be your cup of tea, but it is important to note that they are a part of a bigger issue about the spy agency. In November 2019, Thanduxolo Jika reported on allegations of fraudulent invoices being paid by the SSA that allegedly led to state coffers being looted of [more than R600-million]( from a slush fund by officials in the agency and their co-conspirators outside it. At the centre of the money allegedly siphoned off from the State Security Agency is a sophisticated piece of technology commonly referred to as a “grabber” — which was supplied by a company based in Bloemfontein. The device, which others in the agency refer to as “Warmonger”, is now sitting at “The Farm”, the SSA’s headquarters east of Pretoria. [Nobody there knows how to operate it](. For those who believe we have a strong constitution that should guard against these levels of abuse, it is crucial to remember that democracy needs to be strengthened. It is shockingly obvious how tenuous our democratic process can be if the SSA can be a playground for factional politics. In December 2018, a high-level review panel established by President Cyril Ramaphosa handed over its findings into allegations of corruption at the agency. The main objective of the review panel was to assist in ensuring a responsible and accountable national intelligence capability for the country, in line with the constitution and relevant legislation. In its report, the panel, chaired by ANC veteran Sydney Mufamadi, found widespread abuses of state security funds. “The SSA had become a ‘cash cow’ for many inside and outside the agency,” the panel concluded. Until tomorrow, Kiri Rupiah & Luke Feltham [Subscribe now]( Enjoy The Ampersand? Share it with your friends [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( [Share]( [Share]( Copyright © 2021 Mail & Guardian Media LTD, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive communications from the Mail & Guardian either at our website or by taking out a print subscription. Our mailing address is: Mail & Guardian Media LTD 25 Owl St BraamfonteinJohannesburg, Gauteng 2001 South Africa [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences or unsubscribe here.]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Mail & Guardian Media LTD · 25 Owl St · Braamfontein · Johannesburg, Gauteng 2001 · South Africa