African National Congress (ANC) deputy president Zuma has said through his lawyer that he is aware of a mysterious report seeking to discredit him, and he hopes law-enforcement agencies will take appropriate action.
The Sunday Independent said that an explosive ”top secret” report, titled Special Browse ‘Mole’ Consolidated Report, alleges that Zuma was bankrolled by Libyan and Angolan leaders to topple President Thabo Mbeki.
Zuma is campaigning to replace Mbeki as ANC president at the party’s decisive national conference in December.
Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils has denied that the report was the work of his agencies, including the National Intelligence Agency, the Independent said. Kasrils warned that ”sinister elements” might try to exploit the current political climate in South Africa.
The Weekender newspaper on Saturday said the leaked report does not bear the stamp of any South African intelligence or security agency, and focuses on Zuma’s political ambitions. The document claims to report on a National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) investigation of Zuma.
The report was sent to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) on May 7 by anonymous fax and posted to the federation’s offices. Cosatu has asked the NPA to investigate the document’s origins, the Weekender said.
Scorpions boss Vusi Pikoli said the matter will be investigated properly.
The Sunday Times reported that while Kasrils had known that the report was being widely circulated, he had not seen it until last week.
City Press said intelligence officers it had spoken to believed the report could have been produced by angry rightwingers with links to foreign intelligence agencies.
Zuma’s lawyer Mike Hulley said: ”We believe the appropriate thing would be to allow law-enforcement agencies the time and space to do their investigations. Mr Zuma will issue a statement thereafter.”
Warning to party
This week, police investigators said the claim of an assassination plot against Zuma is a hoax and they were considering prosecuting senior members of Zuma’s inner circle in connection with it.
Senior members of the South African Police Service crime intelligence unit told the Mail & Guardian they believe the plot claim may have been engineered to enhance Zuma’s public profile and force the state to beef up the already tight security around him.
The home of Zuma’s confidant Elias Khumalo was raided on Friday as police seized evidence linked to the alleged assassination plot, City Press reported on Sunday. A laptop and various other items were seized at Khumalo’s home in the presence of his lawyers.
Sources told City Press that Khumalo was part of a core group of people known to be close to Zuma. They allegedly took part in an amateurish plot claiming that a former member of the South African National Defence Force was paid R1-million in a failed plan to assassinate Zuma.
Last week, City Press revealed how Reverend April Peete Mbambo was flown to Durban, where he was allegedly identified by the supposed assassin, Ben Wyland Coetzee, as the person behind the hoax.
Coetzee, a beach vagrant, is reportedly cooperating with the police and has given them an extensive affidavit outlining how the hoax was put together.
Earlier this week, Mbambo and Durban attorney Barnabas Xulu, who was identified in the M&G as an acquaintance of Khumalo, denied their involvement in the hoax.