[ad_1]
Vice President of the Supreme Court Raymond Zondo.
Veli Nhlapo, Gallo Images
- Thulani Dlomo recruited and trained a team of non-SSA members before he became a spy chief, according to an unidentified witness.
- These members would be part of a parallel structure of the SSA charged with protecting and serving the interests of former President Jacob Zuma.
- This was revealed Wednesday in the State’s Capture Investigation.
While still working for the Kwazulu-Natal Department of Social Development, Thulani Dlomo, who would later become a spy chief, trained 48 non-SSA members for the purpose of establishing a parallel intelligence and protection unit for the former president Jacob Zuma.
These details were contained in an affidavit from a State Security Agency (SSA) agent, known as Mr. Y and corroborated by Ms. K in the state’s arrest investigation Wednesday.
Ms. K, who appeared before the commission via video link in a protected location, was part of the Project Veza team, charged with investigating allegations of irregularities and criminality within the SSA between 2012 and 2018.
Mr. Y, who deposed an affidavit but was unable to physically testify due to health concerns, also played a role in Project Veza as a sponsor.
Mrs. K’s testimony was to confirm the content of Mr. Y’s affidavit.
READ | Sanef wants an investigation after ANA admitted that money from the spy agency was needed to write ‘positive stories’
One of the main points of focus of the testimony was centered on the protection and intelligence unit created for Zuma.
According to Mr. Y and Ms. K, these officers received Dlomo training and were deployed after the 2009 elections in which Zuma was elected president.
Ms. K confirmed that Dlomo, who was later appointed as ambassador to Japan, was responsible for laying the foundations for the unit before Zuma became president and before he was officially in the service of the SSA.
Trained
Ms. K confirmed that the recruits were trained while he was in social development and that letters were seen informing Dlomo employers that he was assisting the SSA.
These members were also trained in an unidentified country.
Mr. Y and Ms. K also detailed that these members were not subjected to the normal SSA screening and selection processes and that they were given access to SSA funds and resources, such as firearms.
READ | The spy chief claims the SSA handed over firearms and ammunition to ‘non-members’
These funds were channeled to this parallel structure whose sole task was to serve Zuma and his interests, forming a private force for the president.
This unit, which was called the Presidential Security Support Services, also did not appear to be indebted to the SSA structures and was asked to sign non-agency contracts.
“It seems to me that, whatever their functions were, they weren’t performed within the structures of the SSA?” Zondo asked Ms. K.
Ms K replied that the unit’s operations were never disclosed to the SSA and therefore effectively operated outside of the SSA.
These members were eventually absorbed into a unit that coincided with Dlomo’s appointment as manager of the general direction of special operations (CDSO) in 2012.
Policeman
Ms K further said that no memorandum of understanding had been found between the unit and the South African Police Services, which are legally entrusted with the President’s protective services.
Mr. Y, in his affidavit, also claimed that Dlomo reported directly to Zuma, while Ms. K said it was a deduction he had made as there was no evidence from the reporting line.
However, Ms. K said that unit operatives had told her that they were reporting directly to Zuma.
One operative even said that they felt very powerful because they reported directly to the president at the time.
He added that while the main members of the unit were not members of the SSA, over time, a handful of members of the SSA were recruited into the CDSO.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ms K named former intelligence ministers Siyabonga Cwele, David Mahlobo and defender Bongani Bongo as the political leadership that abused the SSA and its mandate, while naming Arthur Fraser and Dlomo as those who implemented and carried out the abuses.
