JOHANNESBURG, 12 March. - (ANA) - Former South Africa President Jacob Zuma has taken a swipe at his successor Cyril Ramaphosa, over a spy report claiming he ran an illegal campaign to stop the latter from becoming the ruling African National Congress (ANC) leader.

 

On Saturday, President Ramaphosa authorised the publication of the report of the high-level review panel on the State Security Agency (SSA) that he appointed in June 2018 to assess the integrity of the agency.

 

The report claimed that Mr Zuma spent millions on dirty tricks using state apparatus to sabotage Mr Ramaphosa’s ANC presidential campaign in 2017.

 

The South African leader faced off with Mr Zuma’s preferred candidate, his ex-wife, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, in that particular election.

 

In a tweet responding to the claims, Mr Zuma said he felt nothing when ‘apartheid spies’ call him corrupt.

 

Although he did not mention names, indications were that he may have been referring to President Ramaphosa. About two weeks ago, the Congress of the People (Cope) leader, Mr Mosiuoa Lekota, told parliament that President Ramaphosa “sold out” his comrades in the 1970s by writing to the apartheid Special Branch police asking for clemency.

 

“I hope people are not opening a can of worms which they might regret,” he wrote on his Twitter page.

 

Mr Zuma added to his claims that the committee, headed by State Security minister Sydney Mufamadi, had apartheid spies in its ranks.

 

“This committee has two well-known apartheid spies. I have never sold out nor written letter to SB (the Special Branch),” Mr Zuma wrote.

 

He accused the panel of not giving him the right of reply despite the fact that he appears to have been heavily implicated by the report.

 

The report further claimed that Mr Zuma spied on civil society organisations critical of him.

 

The report said agency spies tried to prevent President Ramaphosa’s supporters from distributing campaign regalia at the ANC birthday celebrations in Rustenburg in the build up to the 2017 elective congress.  - (ANA) -

 

 

AB/ANA/12 March 2019 - - -