Wally Mbhele and Paul Kirk
A senior National Intelligence Agency (NIA) official was arrested on Monday in Durban for the alleged rape of a Department of Foreign Affairs official. Both were assigned duties at the high-powered Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM).
The matter was kept under wraps as government officials believed it would “embarrass” the government if it leaked to the media during the CHOGM conference.
South Africa hosted the conference, which was attended by more than 50 heads of Commonwealth states from around the world.
The alleged rape happened late on Sunday night at the Durban City Lodge, where South African government employees assigned to work at the conference were accommodated.
The name of the NIA official is known to the Mail & Guardian but cannot be divulged at present. He is still in custody in a Durban prison.
Senior government sources told the M&G the order to keep the incident secret came from a top police official who claimed he was instructed to do so by government officials.
The arrested official is alleged to have been noticed repeatedly nagging and fondling the woman on Sunday night at the City Lodge where there was a “get-together” of government employees assigned to CHOGM.
However, witnesses say the woman repeatedly rejected the advances from the NIA man, who appeared to be drunk.
It is believed that other people present at the hotel did not take her distress seriously. They thought the man was “merely playing” with the woman.
After the others left “the party” to prepare for the following day’s CHOGM session, the woman also left and went to her hotel room. She was allegedly followed by the NIA operative who entered the room after she opened the door. He then allegedly began to sexually assault her.
The woman screamed and hotel staff rushed to the room. One of the hotel employees phoned the Durban police, who arrived within minutes of receiving the report.
The woman, who works in the Department of Foreign Affairs administration section, has not reported for work this week. Many of her colleagues are aware of the alleged attack.
Members of the police service in Durban, who confirmed the incident on condition of anonymity, told the M&G this week that they were instructed to keep the matter secret to save face for the South African government. They were warned that should the matter be leaked to the press, they would be held personally accountable. No mention was made of the arrest in the police daily serious crime report this week.
The former head of the VIP protection unit, Gary Kruser, who is now a police director in the office of the national police commissioner, was charged with investigating the incident.
Contacted for comment, Kruser promised to respond but had not done so by the time of going to press.