A judicial commission of inquiry will investigate allegations that National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka was an apartheid-era spy, the Cabinet announced on Thursday.
But the ongoing conflict between Ncguka and Deputy President Jacob Zuma, against whom Ngcuka said there was a prima facie case of corruption while declining to prosecute, appears to fall outside the terms of the inquiry. The inquiry will be headed by a retired judge.
The spy claims surfaced in City Press earlier this month. Ngcuka, who has denied the allegations, said he would sue the newspaper for defamation.
Government spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe told the Mail & Guardian the commission was expected to complete its work within a matter of weeks. The ministerial co-ordinating committee announced by Minister of Justice Penuell Maduna last week, he said, would focus on the mandate of the Scorpions.
“It is very critical that all of us should have confidence in our formal state structures,” Netshitenzhe told an earlier media briefing.
“It is not helpful to debate this matter through the media. We want to deal with this matter in a professional manner.”
Asked whether intelligence agencies were involved in the spying claims, Netshitenzhe replied government was “convinced” they were not.
The announcement of the commission came days after the African National Congress national executive committee (NEC) decided the dispute was for government to resolve. The ANC NEC had not taken a decision to investigate Ncguka, it said in a statement following the weekend meeting.
Meanwhile on Thursday afternoon President Thabo Mbeki told MPs the government could not act against Zuma, or anyone else, on the basis of allegations. “The president is not a court of law. Neither has anybody approached me about the allegations made about the deputy president or for that matter [Ngcuka].”
The spy allegations were supported by former transport minister Mac Maharaj, who played a leading role in the anti-apartheid underground. Maharaj is also under investigation by the Scorpions.
The secret number given by Maharaj as identifying Ngcuka, however, turned out to have been the number of a white woman spy.