Former President's spy bosses' trial held in secret

The public has been barred from attending portions of the trial of South Africa's former spy bosses Thulani Dlomo and Patrick Mshothola, who are accused of unlawfully making off with R12m in State Security Agency (SSA) funds under false pretences. The media was not permitted to attend proceedings in the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) on Friday. News24 says its attorneys have written to the parties and Judge Mashudu Munzhelele, who is presiding over the case, to request access. There is enormous public interest in the matter, given the SSA’s role during state capture, Dlomo’s position as head of the Chief Directorate for Special Operations, and the subsequent politicisation of the SSA and theft of millions of rands from the agency’s coffers. The fact that the trial has already run for three days without the media or the public knowing has harmed the right of the citizenry to be informed about matters in the public domain and in the public interest. These are the core arguments in an application expected to be heard this morning and lodged by Media24, amaBhungane, Daily Maverick and the Campaign for Free Expression. Daily Maverick reports that the applicants argue that the order has been implemented as a blanket prohibition on public access, with three days of proceedings seemingly already conducted in complete secrecy. They argue that the order does not authorise holding the entire trial in camera and that its implementation violates constitutional guarantees of open justice, freedom of expression and access to information. ‘The present blanket exclusion of media from proceedings is therefore not sanctioned by the order itself,’ attorney Charl du Plessis states in the founding affidavit.

The case against Dlomo and Mshothola is being prosecuted by the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac), with assistance from Advocate Terry Motau SC. The commencement of the trial and the prosecutors’ intention to keep the proceedings largely secret were not publicly announced. Initially, the case was set down to be heard on 5 October, but it was postponed. News24 notes that one of the first orders of business upon the resumption of proceedings on Wednesday was the application to have the case heard in camera. Idac filed an application to have portions of the evidence and testimony heard behind closed doors. The application was not opposed by Dlomo or Mshothola. According to a court order dated 15 October, the public would be excluded:

* During portions of the proceedings in which current or former members of the SSA testify; the identities of these former or current SSA members may not be disclosed.

* During portions of evidence concerning the ‘operational and intelligence-collecting methods of the SSA’ being led.

* During portions of proceedings in which ‘evidence concerning classified documents is led’.

The order also lists six evidentiary documents that will not be open to public access. Furthermore, it provides a blanket description for ‘any document or material produced or relied upon during the trial which is classified or which contains information which the DG of the SSA is required to protect from unauthorised disclosure’. Overarchingly, the order also sets out that the record of the proceedings will be kept confidential. News24 says Dlomo, who has long been labelled as former President Jacob Zuma’s ‘personal spy’, was reported to have answered only to Zuma during his tenure at the SSA and was feared as a highly influential operative. He played a critical role in the politicisation of the agency during the Zuma era, according to evidence unearthed by investigations into the SSA, including the Zondo Commission that examined state capture. Dlomo was known to have been close to former SSA boss Arthur Fraser, as well as David Mahlobo, the State Security Minister under Zuma. Dlomo and Mshothola are facing charges of forgery, fraud, uttering and theft linked to transactions in 2015 involving R12m in cash that was drawn from SSA coffers for an operation named ‘Operation Mayibuye’. The trial, which represents the first major criminal action against SSA officials in the post-Zuma era, is expected to continue for two weeks.