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/ 23 September 2008
Finance Minister Trevor Manuel is among 11 Cabinet ministers and three deputy ministers who have resigned.
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/ 18 September 2008
The fraud trial of former spy boss Billy Masetlha and his two co-accused has been postponed in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
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/ 5 September 2008
Cape Town mayor Helen Zille has accused cellphone giant Vodacom of helping the ANC-controlled Western Cape government to illegally spy on her.
The Muslim Judicial Council has asked Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils to intervene in the detention of two SA Islamic relief workers in Uganda.
The day he realised that Billy Masetlha was “ingratiating” himself with Jacob Zuma, it dawned on Ronnie Kasrils that he could no longer trust the man.
Former spy boss Billy Masetlha had tried to advance Jacob Zuma’s political career, the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court heard on Thursday.
Former spy boss Billy Masetlha was described by Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils on Wednesday as ”misleading” and someone to be ”wary” of.
Business Day has been ordered to pay the costs of a National Intelligence Agency application to block publication of a sensitive document.
The National Intelligence Agency has not lost its credibility, Intelligence Services Minister Ronnie Kasrils said in Pretoria on Thursday.
Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils’s own ministerial review commission on intelligence has delivered a sharp critique of the ministry’s new draft Protection of Information Bill.
POINT: In April 2001, 22 months after Thabo Mbeki became president, the Mail & Guardian ran a full-length front-cover photograph of him alongside the question: ”Is this man fit to rule?” Letters to the paper the following week convey the intensity of the reaction. ”Who are these racists masquerading as newspapermen?”
Xenophobic violence against foreign nationals has been brought under control, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said on Monday. ”I do believe the situation is under control … the violence has subsided,” he said at a briefing at the Union Buildings in Pretoria following an inter-governmental task team meeting with President Thabo Mbeki.
South African President Thabo Mbeki, already under fire for perceived policy failings that caused an anti-immigrant backlash in his country, now faces questions about his handling of the crisis. The head of state is yet to visit the worst affected areas of Johannesburg after two weeks of violence against foreigners.
South African troops have killed a man in a Johannesburg township during operations to quell anti-immigrant violence, the army said on Saturday, as they deployed on the streets for the first time since apartheid. At least 43 have been killed, more than 500 arrested and 17Â 000 displaced.
South Africa’s government admitted on Friday it was aware of the potential of anti-immigrant sentiment to explode into violence. ”Of course we were aware there was something brewing. It is one thing to know there is a social problem and another thing to know when that outburst will occur,” said Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils.
South Africa made the front page of world newspapers for all the wrong reasons this week as anti-foreigner violence spiralled out of control.
The recent wave of so-called xenophobic violence had been deliberately unleashed ahead of next year’s general election, National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Director General Manala Manzini said on Thursday. At least 42 people have been killed and 16Â 000 displaced since the outbreak of the attacks on foreigners in Alexandra on May 12.
Ronnie Kasrils, Minister of Intelligence, said on Tuesday that "we are not just seeing spontaneous xenophobic attacks". "There are many social issues at the root of the problem, but we have reason to believe that there are many other organisations involved in sparking the attacks. We are currently analysing the situation."
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/ 19 February 2008
Recent cases of spying involving the mayor of Cape Town and a report alleging a conspiracy to bring down the government are part of apartheid ”baggage”, Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils said in Cape Town on Tuesday. He said it is a ”knee-jerk reaction” to assume that the National Intelligence Agency is behind such cases.
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/ 18 December 2007
A third day of cool, rainy weather in Polokwane did little to quench the fiery support for the front-runners in the ANC presidential race: Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma. Voting for the party’s top six officials started later than the scheduled time of 6am on Tuesday morning due to computer-related delays.
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/ 5 December 2007
What does President Thabo Mbeki like to do in his spare time? Ballroom dancing? Playing the piano? No, the man likes to work during leisure hours, says his spokesperson. As the ruling party’s national conference in Polokwane approaches members of the South African Cabinet certainly need ways to unwind.
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/ 22 November 2007
It would be a recipe for disaster if the intelligence services had to apply to the courts every time it wanted classified documents kept from the public, the Constitutional Court heard on Thursday. ”This would be hopelessly impractical,” said David Unterhalter, counsel for the Intelligence Ministry and the Presidency.
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/ 21 November 2007
The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) will appear in the Constitutional Court on Thursday in the case of Independent Newspapers versus the minister of intelligence. The FXI said on Wednesday it would argue that Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils did not follow proper procedure when trying to withhold certain documents from the public.
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/ 10 November 2007
Former spy boss Billy Masetlha had no political ambitions and would have retired as National Intelligence Agency director general had he not been fired, the Hatfield Community Court heard on Friday. He is charged with allegedly withholding information from Inspector General of Intelligence Zolile Ngcakani.
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/ 30 October 2007
Former spy boss Billy Masetlha on Tuesday told the Hatfield Community Court how he went though a period of humiliation and victimisation while trying to get access to the premises of the National Intelligence Agency in order to get the information needed by the inspector general of intelligence.
The Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday that President Thabo Mbeki did have the power to sack former National Intelligence Agency director general Billy Masetlha. The president had the power to terminate his employment under section 209(2) of the Constitution, read with section 3 of the Intelligence Services Act.
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/ 13 September 2007
Former intelligence director general Billy Masetlha, charged with withholding information from Inspector General of Intelligence Zolile Ngcakani, went out of his way to provide such information, the Hatfield Community Court heard on Thursday during testimony by Masetlha.
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/ 13 September 2007
Former director general of the National Intelligence Agency Billy Masetlha has implicated Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils in a ”counter-revolution” meant to destroy the African National Congress (ANC). ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe had said that certain things happening in the party bordered on ”counter-revolution”, Masetlha testified on Wednesday.
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/ 4 September 2007
Former National Intelligence Agency director general Billy Masetlha and his two co-accused, software specialist Muziwendoda Kunene and IT specialist Funokwakhe Madlala, had their fraud case postponed in the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday. The case was postponed to October 1 for trial and plea.
Fugitive ANC leader Ronnie Kasrils scoffs at the state’s ‘conspiracy’ claims …