A quantum of solace for press freedom
Arthur Fraser has been shifted from the position of spy boss to an altogether less powerful post
Spies are there to lie, cheat and dissemble to glean information essential for the security of the state. They just mustn’t get caught. That’s why government has a person called the “intelligence inspector-general” to spy on the spies when the spies go too far or break one law too many.
The present inspector-general, Setlhomamaru Dintwe, has just bagged the biggest fish of all,
Arthur Fraser, the local version of James Bond’s boss, M, albeit a less glamorous version.
Fraser has been shifted from the position of spy boss to an altogether less powerful post in the department of correctional services.
If Fraser’s name is familiar, it is because he is a central figure in Jacques Pauw’s blockbuster, The President’s Keepers. Fraser has raided Pauw’s office and wants to censor the book because he says his secrets have been illegally revealed.
This summary from journalist Karyn Maughan: “The book alleged that Fraser set up a network of agents‚ including his own relatives‚ which could have wasted up to a billion rand of taxpayers’ money.”
Back to the spy vs spy drama.
Dintwe was investigating this parallel network when Fraser withdrew his security clearance, which prevented Dintwe accessing files that he believes incriminate Fraser.
Fraser accused Dintwe of being part of a conspiracy, a politically motivated campaign to discredit him, the State Security Agency and the entire government.
For his part, Dintwe stuck to his small Minox cameras, trying to get to the bottom of something called the Principal Agent Network or PAN (which may or may not meet in secret every full moon in an abandoned, snow-bound monastery in the Alps).
Dintwe went to court to obtain an order preventing Fraser from interfering in his work.
“Nothing precludes any member of the public from lodging a complaint regarding the PAN programme‚ allegations of fraud against the director-general or any person‚ including allegations of the fact that no action was taken by the executive authority to bring those implicated to book,” he said in an affidavit.
President Cyril Ramaphosa took the decision to move Fraser to a place where he could do less harm, finally providing a quantum of solace for freedom of the press.