The controversial former head of the State Security Agency's (SSA) rogue special operations unit, Thulani Dlomo, has been identified as a prime suspect being investigated for fomenting violent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal following the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma.
News24 can reveal, from information confirmed by three independent and highly placed sources, that intelligence officials told the police Dlomo was a key person of interest in instigating the unrest that has rocked South Africa, led to the death of at least 45 citizens and destroyed businesses and jobs worth hundreds of millions of rands.
The former spook and ambassador to Japan is known to be fiercely loyal to Zuma and is said to be at the centre of orchestrating pro-Zuma unrest that has descended into violent looting across KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. In January, the Zondo Commission heard that Dlomo's unit effectively operated as Zuma's private militia, "was a law unto itself and directly served the political interests of the executive".