Spy allegations 'great insult'

2003-09-08 23:07

Willem Jordaan

Cape Town - Allegations that ANC advocate Bulelani Ngcuka was an apartheid spy appears to be a smear campaign against the director of public prosecution, said George Fivaz, who was national police chief at the time of Ngcuka's appointment.

Fivaz was approached for comment after City Press reported that Ngcuka had been investigated by the ANC in the 1980s, an ANC intelligence report also found there were reasonable grounds to suspect Ngcuka of being an agent who passed ANC information on to police.

Mac Maharaj, former minister of transport, said he saw the report and that President Thabo Mbeki had not been fully informed before appointing Ngcuka.

Fivaz said as police chief he had been closely involved in the restructuring of the security branch of the police, and that Ngcuka was never named as a one-time informer.

"If at that time, there was information that Ngcuka worked for the security branch, I would have known about it," said Fivaz.

"I have a good idea about who did work for the security branch, but Ngcuka's name was never mentioned. To me it looks like a smear campaign after Ngcuka stuck his neck out," said Fivaz, who added that he had always had a lot of respect for Ngcuka.

According to him the burning question was why had Maharaj, who was a cabinet minister at the time of Ngcuka's appointment, not revealed the information and why had he not informed the cabinet of it before Ngcuka was given the job.

Maharaj meanwhile said he would not respond to Fivaz's comments unless Fivaz submitted a written statement.

Concerning Ngcuka's plans to sue City Press and Maharaj for defamation of character, Maharaj said he stood by his allegations and that there was a case against Ngcuka, which he would now have to answer to.

By yesterday, Maharaj's allegations had sent a shock wave through the ANC. Senior ANC members, who asked not to be named, said an allegation that a comrade could have been a former apartheid spy was the biggest insult imaginable.

"Anyone that makes such allegations must be able to verify their facts, as such an allegation is not taken lightly," said one prominent ANC figure.

- Die Burger