The inspector general of intelligence will take the witness stand in the Hatfield Community Court on Friday after former spy boss Billy Masetlha’s defence was granted an application to recall witnesses.
Zolile Ngcakani is to be asked whether he received a report that Masetlha said he sent to him on September 30 2005.
The inspector general denied in his earlier testimony receiving a report from Masetlha, the National Intelligence Agency’s (NIA) former director general.
Masetlha is charged with contravening the Intelligence Services Oversight Act by withholding evidence from Ngcakani.
Masetlha’s personal assistant at the NIA, Nokuthula Motshwane, was also recalled.
However, she cannot be in court on Friday as she is heavily pregnant.
It was decided that she rather give her testimony through a sworn affidavit after she received the questions from Masetlha’s defence.
Masetlha testified that the report Ngcakani had asked for was sent on September 30 2005 by courier, Simphiwe Radebe. He called Motshwane and dictated a letter to accompany the report to Ngcakani.
However, the letter drafted by Motshwane appears as having been created on October 5 in the NIA systems.
This information of when and how the report was sent only came up after Ngcakani and Motshwane had already testified.
Masetlha’s defence attorney, Neil Tuchten, said Masetlha did not tell him about the report and only told his attorneys and counsel what they needed to know.
”Our client is governed by a need-to-know principle and this is engraved in him … it is obvious that during instructions he only told us what we needed to know,” Tuchten said.
Tuchten said in the interests of justice, Ngcakani and Motshwane should be recalled as it was obvious that important information arose during Masetlha’s testimony that had not been anticipated. — Sapa