Declassify report: Independent

INDEPENDENT Media is forging ahead with its legal battle against the State Security Agency (SSA) to get a suspiciously classified intelligence report declassified and laid bare for its readers.

The report, the content of which cannot be fully disclosed since the matter will be heard in closed court chambers in Pretoria next Tuesday, was allegedly compiled by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) spies based at the US embassy in Pretoria.

It was later shared with the SSA before concerned sources leaked it to the Daily News, one of the publications of the news media group.

When The Star’s sister paper, the Daily News, asked questions about it in December last year, the SSA dashed to court and obtained an interim interdict until the matter is argued in court. The case is now heading for a hearing after all parties filed their papers.

The SSA authorised its deputy director-general, Welcome Simelane, to file its court papers and he was supported in his version by several officials such as Mava Scott, a spokesperson for the entity and who was the one who alerted his bosses about the newspaper’s intention to publish some parts of it.

Basically, the report shows how the US was able to infiltrate the ANC using certain leaders. As a result, the US was able to use the leaders to change the policy direction in favour of the US.

Simelane advances a range of reasons why Daily News journalist Thabo Makwakwa and Independent Media should return the report.

In the opening of his affidavit, he argues that the sharing of the intelligence was part of a broader collaboration with the US and if such a report was made public, their working relationship would be compromised.

“It implicates certain high-profile South African politicians in co-operating with the USA, and specifically deals with the USA’s involvement in causing conflicts and instabilities in the African National Congress (the ANC as the ruling party), the functioning thereof, the different factions therein, who belongs to which faction and which members of the ANC pose a threat to the USA interest in South Africa … the disclosure of which … may seriously compromise the peace and well-being of the people of South Africa, because it may cause civil unrest, as happened during the July 2021 uprising and subsequent loss of life and severe damage to property and infrastructure … damage the relationship between the USA and the Republic of South Africa and endanger the lives of the people mentioned in the report,” he states in his affidavit.

In his responding affidavit, Makwakwa shot down the argument by Simelane on behalf of the SSA. He argued that the reason for the classification of the report was nefarious.

“I accept that the state has the authority to classify documents, but understand that it may only do so in furtherance of its duties to preserve the peace, secure the well-being of the people of South Africa, maintain national security, defend, and protect the Republic of South Africa, to establish and maintain intelligence services and to prevent combat and investigate crime.

“Content is given to these imperatives by the establishment of institutions such as the SSA and classification of information by the SSA must be done within the policy known as the Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS). The MISS allows for four different classifications.

“However, before it describes the different classifications, it expresses a particularly important cautionary that: ‘It is necessary to constantly

guard against both the over-classification and the under-classification of information. Misuse of classifications can result in the system being treated with contempt. The consequence will be carelessness with respect to the security system’.”

Makwakwa, in court papers, argued that the classification had everything to do with ANC factional battles and the SSA’s dubious involvement.

“Before I comment on this report with reference to the different sections listed in the contents page, it bears mentioning that the heading of the document is ‘Interest in ANC party dynamics’. It will become clear that the SSA has utilised valuable resources in order to involve itself in the internal contest within the ANC.

“The report has nothing to do with state security and everything to do with factional in-fighting within the ANC … The report was thus not drafted in furtherance of the legitimate objectives of the SSA.”

Makwakwa said he was never asked by Scott to hold part one of the story. If he was asked and given valid reasons, he would have gladly obliged.

“First, I was not asked by Scott or anyone else to refrain from publishing my story or the report. If they had asked me to do so and provided a good reason for the request I would have held back on publication. What they chose to do is refuse to comment and threaten legal action. In those circumstances, they cannot complain that I did not give them an undertaking not to publish.”

Commenting on the matter, the editor of the Daily News, Ayanda Mdluli, said the issue had become bigger than the court action, classification or declassification of the top secret report.

He was of the view that the issue had become one of public interest and media freedom. He argued that the people of South Africa had a right to know if certain top brass and leaders of the ANC were working with or had been captured by the CIA.

He added that the document was obtained legitimately and via a primary source within the agency and was not obtained illegally.

“If there are certain leaders in the ANC who are working with and have links with the CIA, the people of South Africa have a right to know. The Daily News is acting in the public interest. When you look at the history of how certain powerful countries have meddled in the affairs of other African states, the results have always been disastrous. That cannot happen on our watch. We stand behind our journalists and we will not be silenced,” he said.