Former security policeman Gideon Nieuwoudt was added on Thursday to the list of accusers of National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka.
Ngcuka’s spokesperson, Sipho Ngwema, confirmed that the national prosecuting authority, headed by Ngcuka, was investigating Nieuwoudt, whom the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had refused amnesty. The current investigation related to the apartheid-era killing of the “Pebco Three” in the Eastern Cape.
Former transport minister Mac Maharaj said at the Hefer commission on Thursday that Nieuwoudt was one of three former security branch officers who had confirmed spying allegations against Ngcuka in television interviews. During this process, Maharaj again faced Nieuwoudt — one of the veteran liberation fighter’s interrogators when the security branch arrested him in 1990.
The interviews were conducted for an e-tv program that was screened on September 16 on allegations that Ngcuka acted as an agent for the apartheid government.
Nieuwoudt’s interview was recorded in former African National Congress intelligence chief Mo Shaik’s house, Maharaj said.
In September Shaik and Maharaj were the first to publicly confirm the allegation. It has since become clear that Shaik had been at least one of the sources of journalist Ranjeni Munusamy. Maharaj said on Thursday he found Nieuwoudt in Shaik’s house when he arrived there at the day of the e-tv interview. Shaik had informed him beforehand that his former interrogator would be there.
Nieuwoudt, a former colonel and head of the apartheid-era security police in Port Elizabeth, admitted in 1997 before the TRC that he helped kill the Pebco Three in 1985.
The three anti-apartheid activists — Qaqawuli Gedolozi, Sipho Hashe and Champion Galela — were killed after security police had abducted them at the Port Elizabeth airport. Nieuwoudt also allegedly participated in the killing of activist Steve Biko.
The TRC turned down his amnesty application for not fully disclosing all his crimes.
Maharaj’s testimony on Tuesday indicated that the e-tv interviews were conducted long before Munusamy’s article on allegations of Ngucka being an apartheid spy appeared in the City Press newspaper on September 7.
An interview in which Maharaj himself confirmed the allegations, was recorded on August 19.
This was also before the former transport minister met President Thabo Mbeki to warn that he planned to go public with the allegations against Ngcuka.
This meeting took place on August 23, Maharaj testified. It was the same day on which Ngcuka held a media conference to announce that there was a prima facie corruption case against Deputy President Jacob Zuma.
Maharaj said he warned Mbeki during their meeting about this pending conference. He had learned about it beforehand.
Changing tack, Moerane asked Maharaj whether Ngcuka was within his rights to hold an off-the-record briefing.
Maharaj replied that he had a problem with the contents of the briefing.
The pair then became embroiled in a heated discussion about whether Ngcuka had acted correctly in holding the briefing.
Moerane then read the Mail & Guardian editorial from September 26, 2003.
Here is the editorial.
That Ngcuka briefing
One of the time-tested traditions of the journalistic profession is the off-the record briefing. It is used by practitioners to glean information, understand events and equip themselves to make rational judgements.
National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka conducted such a briefing for newspaper editors a few weeks ago. But urban legend now has it that Ngcuka used the briefing to solicit support from black editors in his investigation of Deputy President Jacob Zuma. Commentators have alleged that some editors who attended have taken sides in the ongoing war between Ngcuka and those he is investigating for corruption, and have suppressed stories about spy claims against Ngcuka.
This is completely false.
The Mail & Guardian, whose editor attended the briefing in question, has received no appeals for support from any quarter, and has pledged no support to any party in the ongoing row tearing the nation apart. For the record, no member of the M&G staff has seen documentation indicating that Ngcuka was an apartheid spy. There was, in short, no story to suppress. We regard it as our duty to ensure that all information we publish is accurate, fair, credible and in the public interest. On these principals we will not compromise, no matter who is affected.
What we can say without shame is that we are loyal to, and will uphold our Constitution, as well as the ideals of clean governance, truthfulness and service to the people of our country and our region.
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