WikiLeaks exposes SA spy boss
2011-01-23 09:19
Johannesburg - An
explosive WikiLeaks cable claims that spy boss and President Jacob Zuma
confidante Mo Shaik threatened to expose the “political skeletons” of
Zuma’s enemies
and reveals that he was cultivated by the Americans as a key informant
within the Zuma camp.
The
fresh revelations are likely to shake the Zuma administration as they
involve one of the president’s key allies and the man tasked with
running the country’s
secret service. They give new insight into the bitter battle which took
place between Zuma’s allies and those aligned to former President Thabo
Mbeki prior to Mbeki’s ousting.
The
confidential US Embassy diplomatic cable – titled Zuma advisor
threatens to expose political skeletons- claims South African Secret
Service boss Shaik,
brother of convicted fraudster and Zuma funder Schabir, told the
Americans that Zuma’s legal team would subpoena the country’s most
influential figures if he lost a bid to have corruption charges against
him “re-examined”.
The
cable said he named Mbeki, the then suspended police commissioner
Jackie Selebi, former director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli, then
acting head
of public prosecutions Mokotedi Mpshe as well as former Speaker Frene
Ginwala as targets.
Shaik has refused to confirm or deny the claims.
The
cable – one of 250 000 leaked to Whistleblower website WikiLeaks but
obtained exclusively by Media24 Investigations – also reveals that the
US Embassy
in Pretoria actively cultivated Shaik as a key source of information on
Zuma’s inner circle and the “motivations and strategies of the Zuma
camp”.
Dated
September 10 2008, two days before corruption charges against Zuma
were initially dismissed by Judge Chris Nicholson, the cable was sent to
the Secretary
of State in Washington DC and copied to US consuls in Durban and Cape
Town, the CIA, the US Defence Intelligence Agency and the White House
National Security Council.
It
is one of a number of classified cables recording meetings between
Shaik – who was controversially appointed head of the South African
Secret Service (SASS),
South Africa’s foreign intelligence wing, in October 2009 - and an
unidentified US embassy political officer.
“Shaik
complained that all these people know Zuma is innocent and that he does
not understand why they have not come to Zuma’s defence before now,”
the cable
noted.
Shared insights
The
cable noted that “as usual” Shaik treated the political officer or
“PolOff” as “a friend, a child, a confidante, and an adversary all in
the same conversation”.
“He
always shares insights into the motivations and strategies of the Zuma
camp, but also expects obvious respect and gratitude for it."
“PolOff does not know if Shaik meets with other diplomats, but presumes his contact within the diplomatic circle is limited."
“The
Australian High Commissioner mentioned he had met Shaik once
before...and Shaik admitted he spoke to the Norwegians but did not say
if this was on a
regular or one-time basis.”
The
cable notes that Shaik “used to meet with the French, but cut them off
after a French diplomat insulted him immediately before the ANC
conference at Polokwane”.
Ousting Mbeki
The
political officer reported that the Irish ambassador had approached her
to arrange a meeting with Shaik after seeing her and Shaik in a
restaurant together,
“but Shaik refused, telling PolOff she should guard her contacts more
closely”.
A source familiar with Shaik’s interaction with the US diplomats claimed this week that Shaik had been tasked with winning diplomats over to the idea of a Zuma presidency.
An
earlier confidential cable, dated May 16 2008 speculated – after a
meeting with Shaik – that the “Zuma camp may be looking to oust Mbeki”.
In
a cable, dated June 4 2009, that focused on President Zuma’s new
cabinet, Shaik is said to have described the appointments of various
presidential advisers,
among them Collins Chabane – now minister in the presidency for
performance monitoring, Ayanda Dlodlo – now deputy minister of public
service and administration, Mandisi Mpahlwa – now envoy to Moscow,
Lindiwe Zulu, Zuma’s international affairs advisor and
Bonisiwe Makhene as concessions to “keep them quiet”.
No comment
Contacted
this week, Shaik said: “I will neither confirm nor deny that we had
discussions with the Americans on these matters and I will definitely
make no
comment about the accuracy of those reports. The Americans must deal
with accuracy.”
US
embassy spokesperson Elizabeth Kennedy-Trudeau said the embassy would not
confirm or comment on the contents or veracity of “stolen documents”.
“The
nature of cables in themselves is that these are one person’s
interpretation of a meeting, not official US public policy. The
circumstances, because
of the very nature of spot reporting are open to interpretation.”
