JOHN DLUDLU: Panel’s damning findings over spy agency turns up heat on Ramaphosa
ANC political factions have been abusing so-called intelligence dossiers to undermine opponents from Vavi and Gordhan to the president himself
South Africans love a good intelligence dossier. Every few years a badly written document purporting to be one makes its way to the media, and a career is destroyed. A few years ago, when I was working with union leader Zwelinzima Vavi, he became a victim of such a dossier. It accused him of all sorts of unpatriotic things against the state. He approached the office of the inspector-general for intelligence to establish the status of this so-called dossier. After many months, the report was published. It read something along the lines of the dossier being the work of a new breed of people known as “information peddlers”. This was the early days of post-truth politics, which would be elevated into an art form by the biggest producer of fake news in the White House. This wouldn’t be the end of it. After a series of skirmishes with his then-finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, former president Jacob Zuma finally found an excuse to sack him. This came in the form of another “intelligence d...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.