The Pretoria Magistrate’s Court has postponed the case against an IT consultant accused of withholding information about hoax e-mails mentioning senior African National Congress officials.
The state and defence had agreed to postpone the case until April 6 for both parties ”to discuss the status of the case”, chief prosecutor Matric Luphondo told the court on Thursday.
Muziwendoda Sikhona Kunene is accused of contravening the Intelligence Services Oversight Act by not providing information on the matter to the Inspector General of Intelligence, Zola Ngcakani.
He was arrested in December for allegedly distributing hoax e-mails implicating senior ANC leaders in an alleged conspiracy against former deputy president Jacob Zuma and ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe.
Kunene was released on R2 000 bail, but disappeared for two weeks in January, after which he handed himself over to the police. He remains out on warning.
According to the charge sheet, Kunene wrongfully withheld information or intelligence from Ngcakani and failed to provide answers or explanations that Ngcakani deemed necessary for the performance of his functions.
According to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) website, the inspector general is charged with ensuring that civilian monitoring of the intelligence services complies with the Constitution and other laws and policies of the country.
The inspector general’s office reports to the Minister of Intelligence, Ronnie Kasrils. The office also reviews the activities of the NIA, receives and investigates complaints from the general public and the joint standing committee on intelligence. — Sapa