The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has taken an interest in the Nigeria-South Africa oil saga and has visited some of those involved, including the wife of Eastern Cape Premier Makhenkesi Stofile.
The Mail & Guardian revealed a month ago how a lucrative crude oil contract — awarded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the ”Republic of South Africa” after lobbying by President Thabo Mbeki — was diverted to an offshore company. There was no benefit to South Africa. The government has offered no comprehensive explanation since then.
Camac, the United States-headquartered oil services group that is parent to the beneficiary company, has insisted the deal was strictly private, only to be contradicted by the NNPC, which described it as a ”government-to-government” deal.
Despite the government’s reluctance to speak about the matter, at least one of its agencies seems to take it seriously. The M&G has learnt that NIA agents have visited personalities connected with the oil saga to gather information.
”I know there was a visit to Mrs [Nambita] Stofile. There were a number of others too,” said one intelligence agency official.
NIA agents apparently took documents from the premier’s wife. The visit, confirmed by a well-placed Eastern Cape source, took place more than two weeks ago.
Nambita Stofile heads a charity, the Eastern Cape Anti-Poverty Foundation, which is listed as a shareholder in the locally registered South African Oil Company (SAOC), the company originally lined up to benefit from the oil allocation. A company by the same name in the tax haven of the Cayman Islands, however, eventually signed the contract. Not all its shareholders are known.
Nambita Stofile is not the only prominent person among the shareholders of the South African version of SAOC. Others include Hintsa Siwisa, brother-in-law of the Eastern Cape premier, and Nomusa Mufamadi, wife of Minister of Provincial and Local Government Sydney Mufamadi.
Nambita Stofile referred inquiries about the matter to her husband’s office, where a spokesperson this week said it was ”outside my brief”.
The NIA neither confirmed nor denied the investigation this week but, in carefully couched language, justified it on the grounds that the agency had to look at allegations of corruption.
”The NIA is responsible for investigating a number of threats to our country’s development and stability. This includes the area of corruption or allegations of corruption,” said NIA spokesperson Lorna Daniels.
”Another term we use is ‘integrity in governance.’ Ensuring clean governance is important to the development and stability of our country.
”We have a policy of not commenting on investigations but I trust that the above helps you to understand where we’re at as an intelligence community.”