Durban’s mayor, Obed Mlaba, on Monday rejected weekend media reports that a National Intelligence Agency (NIA) security check of his office was linked to succession battles within the African National Congress (ANC).
”These people [the media] must come up with something to sell newspapers. Unfortunately they use people like myself [for this],” he said.
On Sunday, the City Press newspaper reported that the intelligence sweep was linked to a top-secret meeting in which Durban’s ANC leaders discussed a new campaign to have former deputy president Jacob Zuma elected party leader.
The reports did not state exactly when or where the alleged meeting took place.
However, Mlaba said those who talk about the succession battle ”do not know how the ANC works”.
The Mercury quoted eThekwini city manager Mike Sutcliffe as saying that the sweep was a ”routine operation”.
The leader of the Democratic Alliance caucus in the municipality, John Steenhuisen, said the NIA needs to ”come clean and explain exactly what they were doing in eThekwini mayor Obed Mlaba’s office, and who gave the orders for them to raid these offices”.
”If the NIA have suspicions that Mlaba is involved in activities that are serious enough to warrant their investigation, then they need to come clean on what they are looking for as it may require the mayor to take leave while their investigation is being conducted,” said Steenhuisen.
NIA spokesperson Lorna Daniels could not be reached for comment on the raids. — Sapa