Gavin Evans and Stefaans Brummer
SOUTH african National Defence Force military intelligence is still interested in bugging its enemies, although these days it prefers to call them
This much emerged from a “feeling out” session monitored by the Weekly Mail & Guardian, between a Wits student “spotted” by an SANDF talent scout, and a senior Airforce intelligence officer this week.
Hennie van Vuuren (20), a second year BA student and South African Liberal Students Association (Salsa) activist, was working at the Getaway Holiday Outdoor Adventure show in Kyalami late last year when he received what he saw as an extraordinary proposal by an airforce sergeant major, Johan Nel, who was doing a spot of moonlighting there.
“After learning I was studying politics and internationnal relations he pricked up his ears and said they might have a job for me, explaining they had to keep their eyes open to find out what was happening in the country generally and in the universities, and asked me to phone him at work to make an appointment.”
Van Vuuren immediately approached the WM&G and it was agreed he would go ahead with the contact to find out more. Nel appeared enthusiastic when his intended recruit phoned, and asked him to report to Airforce headquarters on Wednesday.
“I told him I was reluctant to go there but he reassured me, and told me not to worry because they now had several ANC and PAC people there.”
Van Vuuren was ushered to the office of an Airforce Intelligence officer, Commander Prinsloo, who interviewed him.
“He seemed disappointed I hadn’t completed my studies and stressed they were looking either for a graduate or for someone studying part-time who could work fulltime, though he said they did use part-time information gatherers. I asked him whether they wanted people who were currently at university and he said that such activities had to be sanctioned from above.”
They then discussed the possibilities of full time intelligence work after Van Vuuren had graduated, with Prinsloo showing particular interest in the young student’s intention to pursue legal studies.
“He explained there were three essential divisions: information analysis for intelligence, where he said a political studies and geography background would be of particular interest; media and public relations and surveillance. He said they no longer liked to use the word enemies, and preferred to talk of `opponents’. He stressed a legal background could be of great use here, particularly when it came to making decicisions on bugging these opponents.”
When they departed, Prinsloo suggested further contact on graduation.
* Since new intelligence legislation took effect on January 1 this year, it has become illegal for the SANDF to gather information covertly within the borders of South Africa.
Only the new National Intelligence Agency, and the police in purely criminal matters, are empowered to use covert methods of intelligence gathering, such as bugging — and then only under strictly regulated conditions, and often only with the concurrence of a