Cwele put a stop to Gupta investigation as it would be ‘an investigation into the president’

If you investigate the Guptas you are basically investigating the president “and that would not be proper”.

This is how former state security minister, Siyabonga Cwele, allegedly put a stop to the State Security Agency’s (SSA) attempts to investigate security threats posed by the now infamous Gupta family.

These allegations were made by former state security boss Gibson Njenje when he appeared before the Zondo commission of inquiry on Tuesday.

Njenje said Cwele did not expressly forbid the SSA from investigating the Guptas, adding that the message was only implied.

He detailed how, at a meeting with Cwele in 2011, the minister said: “In effect, should we investigate the Guptas, we would be investigating the president and it would not be proper to investigate the president”.

Njenje also testified that he got the impression that Cwele was of the view that if the investigation proceeded they could find further information on the president that they were not meant to uncover.

“Our reply [to Cwele] was that, no, we would not be investigating the president but only seeking to help the president,” said Njenje.

Njenje said Cwele then made unsubstantiated allegations of him [Njenje] holding a grudge against the Guptas because of having opposing personal business interests to those of the family.

“I heard he [Cwele] was saying that I have got personal interests that are conflicting to those of the Gupta family and these were business-related. I tried to establish from him where he got this,” said Njenje.

Similar to the testimony given on Monday by former secret service head Mo Shaik, Njenje said the meeting then turned sour as a result of the minister’s approach.

“If he had issues that he needed to address with me, why did he not raise them properly instead of waiting until we raised concerns?” said Njenje.

Read: Mo Shaik: Cwele prevented state security from investigating Guptas’ link to Iran

“I felt like I was being personally assaulted,” he added and went on to argue that Cwele provided no evidence at the time to support the perceived conflict of interest.

Njenje said cracks in the relationship between the secret service heads and the minister started emerging as a result of issues around restructuring.

He discussed the time it was taking Cwele to approve restructuring suggestions made by him and his colleagues.

“The minister promised that he would raise his tempo a bit in terms of delivery as we could not implement structures without his authorisation,” said Njenje.

Earlier on Tuesday, Shaik concluded his testimony saying he lost confidence in Zuma.

He testified that Zuma “adopted a victimhood state of mind. The facts did not matter at that point to him.”

He described Zuma’s defence of the Guptas as him being very loyal to the friendship with the family “regardless of the fact that it caused him public embarrassment”.

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