Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils is the latest high-profile politician to be subpoenaed by former National Intelligence Agency boss Billy Masetlha.
Masetlha’s lawyers have instructed Kasrils to hand over a report called Presidential Special Investigation as evidence to be used in his fraud trial in July.
The report was the work of a 2005 investigation by a task team from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the South African Police Service into leaks to the media from South Africa’s intelligence agencies.
The investigation was conducted on the instructions of President Thabo Mbeki, following findings by Judge Joost Hefer during the 2004 Hefer commission that the NPA had leaked sensitive information to the media about South Africa’s former minister of transport and African National Congress (ANC) veteran Mac Maharaj.
It is understood that the report questions Masetlha’s integrity and his ability to conduct effective investigations.
Kasrils referred to the report in his affidavit for the fraud trial, and as a result Masetlha’s lawyers are demanding a full copy of it.
Last month, Masetlha’s lawyers subpoenaed ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe to hand over the ruling party’s ”hoax email” report, which was sealed and classified as confidential after the ANC’s national executive committee rejected it.
Masetlha’s fraud trial follows charges that he was responsible for the ”fabrication” of the emails, which purportedly implicated top ANC leaders in a plot to thwart one set of contenders in the ANC succession battle.