Mac Maharaj: If Siphiwe Nyanda was a spy, Zuma will have tough explaining to do

In an interview given to the Sunday Times, ANC struggle veteran and former spokesperson to then president Jacob Zuma Mac Maharaj poured cold water on a claim last month by Zuma that Siphiwe Nyanda had worked as a double agent during the struggle years.

Last month, Zuma alleged that the former SA National Defence Force chief had taken instruction from the apartheid police.

Zuma took to the witness stand at the commission of inquiry into state capture where he had also earlier alleged that former mineral resources minister Ngoako Ramathlodi had similarly worked as a spy.

Zuma later also attempted to convince South Africa that another long-time detractor of his, former tourism minister Derek Hanekom was a double agent, despite the fact that Zuma had kept Hanekom in his cabinet for years.

Zuma told the commission of an apartheid spy that was trained to infiltrate the ranks of the ANC, who went by the name “Ralph”, highlighting an incident which resulted in Ralph being arrested by the Swazi police.

After Ralph was arrested, he supposedly gave the Swazi officials inside information and was then transported to Mozambique, the commission heard.

Zuma said Ralph then contacted his handlers to inform them that he was being taken to Mozambique and would possibly “never be seen again”. He allegedly told his handlers where he would be sleeping and a plan was hatched to rescue him.

The plan Zuma narrated involved a canister being thrown through the window closest to the bed where Ralph was sleeping. However, the alleged spy was not injured and managed to escape through the same window.

Ralph was then rearrested by the Swazi police the next morning, who had been conniving with the apartheid police, Zuma said.

The former president told the commission the police then wanted to release Ralph “because he was very important” but were cautious to do so because they wanted to determine whether his identity as a spy had been compromised.

Zuma told the commission the police then arranged that in order to determine if Ralph’s identity had been revealed, he would be hugged by a certain person: Nyanda.

This, for Zuma, was conclusive evidence that Nyanda had been compromised.

However, Maharaj told the Sunday Times that if Zuma had had such strong suspicions about Nyanda for such a long time, it was inexplicable that he had allowed him to be appointed him to positions of power and influence in government, especially to be the head of the defence force. Zuma personally appointed him to cabinet in 2009 as minister of communications.

Maharaj said: “It can’t be [true that Nyanda was a spy]. If it was true, who gets indicted? It is the person who had that information and did nothing to protect the organisation and the struggle [Zuma],” said Maharaj without naming Zuma directly.

(Edited by Charles Cilliers)

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