President Thabo Mbeki’s office received a number of death threats against the president earlier in the week, Afrikaans daily newspaper Beeld reported on Friday.
The threatening calls were received a day after a former South African National Defence Force Major, George Makume, was shot dead outside former president Nelson Mandela’s Cape Town house.
On Thursday, during an electioneering visit to KwaZulu-Natal, Mbeki said his staff had received ”a number of threatening calls”.
However, he was of the opinion that it was unnecessary to increase his personal security measures.
Although there were no indication that the actions of Makume were part of a larger conspiracy, the incident and the death threats were being investigated by the police’s intelligence service.
Presidential aide, Bheki Khumalo said the death threats were received on Wednesday. He added that threatening calls had only been received once before in the four years since he joined the president’s staff.
Mbeki earlier said that the government would do everything possible to ensure the safety of former presidents Nelson Mandela, FW de Klerk and PW Botha.
Police did not want to elaborate on the death threats. National spokesperson Senior Superintendent Selby Bokaba said Mbeki had said ”everything there was to say”. – Sapa