SSA security breach: Vagrant breaks into Musanda headquarters

A vagrant allegedly gained unauthorised access to the State Security Agency (SSA) Musanda headquarters in Tshwane.

The Musanda complex, aka “the Farm” is located in a remote area far from any urban activity or main roads, and is heavily guarded.

City Press reported the incident happened on January 21, the weekend that a fire had broken out at the Waterkloof Airbase, which is a national key point.

SA National Defence Force ruled out foul play at the airbase and said the fire started due to a leak in the bulk fuel storage.

ALSO READ: Waterkloof Air Force Base fire: ‘No foul play whatsoever’ – SANDF

But, within two days of the Waterkloof fire, the SSA suddenly introduced new measures to tighten access control and security at the Musanda entrance, which had historically been “extremely lax”.

“We’ve increased security around The Farm [the colloquial name for the agency’s head office] for the entrance since Monday. Members [of the agency] speculate that it might be related to the fire at Parliament and the one at the airbase, but there’s been no official communication,” a senior person in the agency told City Press.

The report also alleges that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration concealed the shocking incident for weeks.

ALSO READ: Suspect arrested for allegedly smashing windows at Constitutional Court

The vagrant security breach comes at a time when the industry is apparently dealing with internal battles over the “rehiring of retired spies and the controversial deployment of wrongly qualified people to sought-after posts in the foreign service.” 

The Musanda suspect was allegedly found by SSA cleaning staff in a building called Rhulani, “which the SSA uses for meetings, workshops and conferences, and which also houses the staff cafeteria”, according to another insider with knowledge of the incident.

When asked for clarity on the incident, SSA spokesperson Mava Scott didn’t deny there was a breach, but said the agency couldn’t comment because “they were not at liberty to discuss security issues with a third party.”

The SSA vagrant security breach is the fourth suspicious incident to take place at a national key point since the start of 2022.

Just two days into the new year, a devastating fire struck Parliament, which led to the destruction of the National Assembly.

The alleged arsonist happens to be another homeless person, Zandile Mafe, who was initially reported as living on the streets of Cape Town.

He faces several charges, including those related to the Explosives Act, theft, arson and housebreaking.

Mafe was denied bail due to the serious nature of the charges.

Compiled by Narissa Subramoney

NOW WATCH: Parliament on fire, several buildings under threat