In 1982 The Star newspaper published a story exposing the Reverend Allan Boesaks affair with an official of the South African Council of Churches. The story was based upon information fed to it by security police. To justify its decision, the newspaper claimed that it was an expos of the security branchs dirty tricks. Yet a top secret document released at the truth commissions media hearings this week paints a different picture. This document, which is an intriguing insight into how the mainstream media were manipulated by the apartheid security forces, is published here, in edited form, for the first time.
This document will attempt to set out in chronological order the exposure of Dr Boesaks relationship and the role played by the security branch.
Members of the security branch, Johannesburg, supported by the intelligence unit, head office, monitored Dr Boesaks visits to Johannesburg since July 1984. At an early stage, this monitoring proved rumours of an extramarital affair between Dr Boesak and Miss Scott.
The security branch in Johannesburg (as in other centres) had sympathetic sources in the hotel industry which regularly assisted them in security operations …
National Intelligence (NI) was also informed about the investigation. They helped by providing dates on which Boesak left Cape Town information they had from reporter WH11 … NI had started their own investigation into the Boesak/Di Scott relationship …
The tape … is a recording of only one encounter at the Milpark Holiday Inn. Only one member of the hotels staff knew of the operation by the security branch that evening.
The following security branch members were involved in the gathering of the information: Captain E van Wyngaardt, Lieutenant Le Roux, Warrant Officer RHL Raven, Sergeant N Bosch.
The fact that Dr Boesak and Miss Scott were involved in a relationship was not only known to the security branch, but had already been discussed for a while by church leaders and in church circles.
Some members of the public had apparently also known about this and in November 1984 an unknown person phoned numerous newspapers in Johannesburg with the information that Boesak and Scott shared a rondavel at Tiger Bay, Zimbabwe, from 22 October 1984 to 25 October 1984. Till today it is still unknown who made the calls, but newspaper inquiries led to the suspicion that the person worked for the travel agency which made the bookings at Tiger Bay.
At this stage it was primarily Tony Stirling at the Citizen and Stephan Terblanche of the Sunday Times who inquired from members of the security branch head office whether any confirmation could be given that there was an extramarital affair between Dr Boesak and Miss Scott.
Confirmation was initially given to the Citizen and the Sunday Times that there was indeed a relationship between Dr Boesak and Miss Scott. The journalists were informed that they apparently had the same information that had been given to the security branch.
There had been discussion and a decision within the security branch that if the relationship was exposed in the media, there would be benefits for the states counter-revolutionary strategy. It was decided to implement the following strategy regarding the media: …
The security branch has no official involvement in the issue as it does not present a threat to state security. Notwithstanding this, the security branch is in possession of a tape recording which proves the alleged relationship conclusively. If there are any inquiries it has to appear that the security branch does not know where the tape originated from …
As a result of our good understanding with certain selected journalists the information that was given to the security branch anonymously will be passed on to them …
Copies of the tape recording as well as the details of the couples meetings in hotels will be given to the newspapers and the journalists … Some journalists have passed on the information to other persons and it is not known to the security branch who has received it:
Stephan Terblanche (Sunday Times); Tony Stirling (Citizen); Cyril MacAvery (Citizen); Ben Gertenbach (Transvaler); Jean Oosthuizen (Transvaler); Cas van Rensburg (Beeld); Mr Kruger (Beeld); Norman Chandler (SAAN); John Horak (SAAN); Cliff Saunders (SABC); Aida Parker (APNewsletter) …
It should also be mentioned that the information was initially only given to the Citizen and the SAAN group. After the sources could not succeed in getting the information published, especially out of fear of the legal steps which could have been taken against the newspapers, the information was also passed on to Perskor, Nasionale Pers and the Aida Parker Newsletter.
Before any of the abovementioned newspapers could publish the story, it appeared in The Star on 1/11/85. It has to be stressed that no member of the security branch contacted journalists at The Star in connection with the information.
After Aida Parkers legal adviser deterred her from publishing the information … she gave it to United Christian Action, a conservative church group, and members of Victims Against Terrorism (VAT). Parker and Mr Jonty Leontsinis of VAT used their own initiative to distribute the information in a way that made it difficult for newspapers to ignore …
The pamphlet The Star reported about was compiled by Leontsinis and distributed to churches and newspapers. The printing was done by him on his private roneo machine. The typing was done on a typewriter he bought specially and which he destroyed immediately afterwards. Mr Leontsinis produced an edited version of the tape recording which he disseminated …
The following security branch members liaised with the above-mentioned journalists: Brigadier HD Stadler; Major CM Williamson; Major AZB Gous; Major WF Wentzel; Captain JL McPherson; Lieutenant NS Bower; Lieutenant JD Pretorius.
It has to be stressed that all the journalists in direct contact with the security branch were long-standing regional office/head office confidants …
It is also important to note that none of the newspapers which had been in contact with the security branch supported The Stars allegation of an organised state/security branch operation.
The fact that the press received the information both anonymously and from their sources in the security branch strengthens their belief that the security branch was not involved with the initial anonymous leak and was thus not involved in an organised conspiracy against Dr Boesak.
The fact that the abovementioned newspapers did not indicate in their reports or commentary that the received the information about Dr Boesak from the security branch, indicated that in this case they themselves were so compromised that they would not be in a position to support The Stars allegation of a state conspiracy.
The role of AP Newsletter, the United Christian Act and Mr Leontsinis of VAT must be protected at all costs because the first two are South African Army projects and the third is a joint South African Police/ South African Army project.