SA’s shadowy spy network has cast a very long shadow over deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo’s inquiry into state capture — from early evidence about “fake intelligence” reports being used to fire ministers and oust key Treasury officials — to former president Jacob Zuma’s claim that he was being targeted by foreign and apartheid spies intent on his political demise.
Now, former spy boss Arthur Fraser — named by The Mail and Guardian as the “spy who saved Zuma” for allegedly giving him the infamous spy tapes used to stop charges against him — has promised to reveal “state secrets” about presidents, judges and parliamentarians when he gives evidence at the inquiry. He has been portrayed as a crucial player in the alleged “capture” of state security structures. His advocate, Muzi Sikhakhane, has told the commission that Fraser will file an affidavit detailing his submissions soon.
And like Zuma before him, Fraser has threatened to name and shame. Sikhakhane will represent both Zuma and Fraser at the commission. But is this a promise? Or a threat? Or both?
Untouchable
Whatever one makes of the submissions made by Sikhakhane at the Zondo inquiry this week, one thing is apparent: Fraser — despite all the controversy that surrounds him and the adverse findings made against him — appears to be untouchable.
President Cyril Ramaphosa moved the long-time trusted official in Zuma’s administration to the powerful position of national commissioner of correctional services, in the middle of an ugly court battle launched against him by the inspector-general of intelligence, Setlhomamaru Dintwe.
Dintwe took Fraser to court after the then spy boss revoked his security clearance — while the inspector-general was investigating what he described as serious “prima facie evidence” of wrongdoing against him, linked to the principle agent network (PAN) project. It is Fraser’s alleged role in the PAN project that will form the basis of any evidence he will provide to Zondo.
Ramaphosa came out in defence of Fraser during the case lodged against Dintwe, despite having previously expressed his own suspicions that state intelligence may have been involved in the hacking of his private e-mails during the run-up to the 2017 ANC leadership battle.
In response to an aborted effort by the DA to challenge Fraser’s appointment as national commissioner of correctional services, the president stated there was no evidence that Fraser was “not of good character”, and denied there was any basis for him to suspend him in the wake of Dintwe’s court action.
The president also did not act against Fraser after the high level review panel that he appointed to investigate state intelligence structures found, among other things, that rogue elements in the state security agency were doing the bidding of ANC factions. Fraser has rubbished that finding and slammed the panel as being “committed to hurling every negative aspersion to the administration that came in 2009 (with the election of Zuma) at the cost of self-contradiction”.
“This obsession with aligning its findings with a popular grand narrative against one faction of the ruling party is not only irrelevant but an unpardonable breach,” Fraser stated in a 78-page response to the panel’s findings.
When Fraser testified about the PAN, Sikhakhane stated on Monday, its legitimacy to the intelligence service would be made visible and that he would “access secrets that he otherwise should not share. Because others have been allowed, he is indemnified from doing so”.
Those words echoed the evidence given by Zuma last year, when he claimed to have a list of key ANC officials who had been working as “double agents” for apartheid and foreign intelligence agencies. He named former ministers Siphiwe Nyanda and Ngoako Ramatlhodi as being such agents. Both men threatened legal action and Zuma was later interdicted from referring to former tourism minister Derek Hanekom as a “known enemy agent”.
Zuma’s lawyers claim this interdict will prevent him from giving full and honest evidence if and when he returns to testify at the inquiry. Already, however, the former president is facing accusations that he unlawfully blocked investigations into the PAN and Fraser himself.
Late in 2019, former head of domestic intelligence Gibson Njenje had testified at the Zondo Inquiry that, after he was ordered to investigate allegations of widespread corruption at the state security agency, he discovered fraud and corruption amounting to about R600m. This alleged criminality involved the purchase of properties, about 300 vehicles as well as computers and laptops “that were just stacked away” by the PAN.
At the time, Fraser was SSA deputy director-general of operations.
According to Njenje, the PAN was intended to form part of official intelligence structures, but ended up operating as an off-the-books, “rogue” intelligence network. It was this evidence that led Sikhakhane to complain that Fraser had been accused of treason — without him being formally notified by the Inquiry of these claims.
Njenje testified that he received instructions from then state security minister Siyabonga Cwele in 2011 that Zuma wanted the PAN investigation stopped because it would “compromise state security” — an echo of Fraser’s submissions that his evidence about the project would reveal “state secrets”.
Sikhakhane on Monday said Fraser would give evidence in response to this that “will complete the picture for the chair about secrets of this state, about who exactly is subverting our state”.
His words suggest that Fraser, like Zuma, is preparing to make some potentially very serious accusations against high-profile figures. Whether these claims can be backed up with genuine evidence, or are simply part of a tactic of distraction, will need to be determined by Zondo.
But how he makes that decision could define this commission.
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