LIVE | Council members oppose testimony to be given by unknown witness before Zondo commission

Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo agrees that Miss K’s identity should be concealed. He says he will provide reasons if asked to.

He orders that she cannot be identified by her real name, which will be redacted from written statements.

She cannot be photographed – and neither can anyone who protects her. She will give her evidence from a protected witness location.

Evidence leader Paul Pretorius earlier argued that the inquiry must hear Miss K’s testimony because “it’s important evidence”.

- Karyn Maughan

Pretorius says it seems that the intention to preclude Miss K from giving evidence in camera should not be confused with her bringing evidence at all. The commission must hear evidence. The rules are clear and are not there to prohibit the commission from doing its work. It makes no sense that an application to give evidence in camera should not itself be bought under the same terms.

As was the case prior to SSA DG Loyiso Jafta testifying yesterday, advocates for implicated spies are protesting about “Miss K” giving evidence.

Advocate Rapulane Kgoroeadira, for former SSA DG Arthur Fraser and his former spy colleagues, insists there is no need for Miss K to confirm Mr Y’s evidence. She could simply provide an affidavit confirming the contents of his evidence.

He accuses the inquiry of “trying to get Mr Y’s evidence in through the back door”. Other advocates have accused the inquiry of failing to give their clients proper notice they would be implicated by Miss K’s evidence – despite evidence leader Paul Pretorius stating this was done because of the sensitivity of her testimony.

These protests have blocked the inquiry from proceeding for close to 30 minutes now.

- Karyn Maughan

The evidence team has known for a while that Mr Y was ill, they had enough time to submit a Rule 3 3 notice, council argues. Zondo says the substance of Miss K’s testimony is in Mr Y’s affidavit. 

Kgoroeadira: Mr Y's evidence cannot be presented through a back door. There is no reason why Miss K's affidavit must be aligned and why she is not submitting her own evidence. People's lives are being affected.

You cannot confirm what is not before the hearing, Kgoroeadira argues.

Evidence leader Paul Pretorius says Arthur Fraser’s advocate Rapulane Kgoroeadira appears to be arguing that Miss K should not give evidence at all – because Fraser and his colleagues have not been notified that her evidence will implicate them. Pretorius says Mr Y, who previously gave evidence about alleged unlawful SSA operations, recently emerged from a coma but is "seriously indisposed" and physically unable to testify. Miss K is now coming to the inquiry to confirm the contents of an affidavit that Mr Y intended to testify about.

- Karyn Maughan

“Miss K” – who is employed by SSA and is involved in “sensitive investigations” – has applied to give her evidence from a remote location and under a protected identity. Evidence leader Paul Pretorius said she has been threatened as a consequence of being part of “Project Veza”, which is aimed at “cleaning up” the SSA.

Arthur Fraser’s advocate Rapulane Kgoroeadira, who also represents a number of other spies, says his clients oppose Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo granting such an order. Kgoroeadira again complains that his clients have not been given any notice that they are implicated in Miss K’s evidence.

“We can’t be ambushed in this manner. This injustice cannot be allowed to persist," he said.

Zondo points out that the inquiry’s evidence leaders have explained that they did not give such notice because of the “sensitive nature” of Miss K’s evidence.

He also compared Miss K giving evidence instead of Mr Y – a previous SSA witness who testified about former president Jacob Zuma’s political allies unlawfully getting Agency protection – to a substitute soccer player taking the jersey of a player he was replacing. This should not be allowed, he said.

- Karyn Maughan

The commission reconvenes, Advocate Pretorius explains the matter before Zondo, which will be the evidence of witness K/ Ms K, whose identity is to be protected during testimony. This witness will be testifying from an undisclosed location. The witness is employed by SSA. 

Arthur Fraser’s advocate Rapulane Kgoroeadira expresses his unhappiness over the former SSA DG being implicated in the R9 billion in “missing” assets identified by the Auditor-General in the agency’s 2017/2018 annual report. He insists that evidence given by Fraser’s successor Loyiso Jafta is “the first time” that Fraser heard “of such a huge amount of money being unaccounted for under his watch” and says Jafta had a duty to raise it with him.

Kgoroeadira claims “we have since established that no assets to the amount of R9 billion are unaccounted for”. He accuses Jafta of conducting a “malicious” investigation against Fraser and deliberately withholding information from the AG. The advocate further alleged that the inquiry’s failure to inform Fraser that he was implicated by Jafta’s evidence confirmed his “suspicion of bias” against evidence leader Paul Pretorius. Pretorius says Fraser will have the opportunity to raise these issues in cross-examination.

-Karyn Maughan

A short adjournment will take place. 

Zondo commission has resumed, Adv Paul Pretorius will lead evidence of unidentified witness. 

State capture: SSA gave firearms, ammunition to non-members, claims spy boss

State Security Agency (SSA) operatives unlawfully gave firearms and ammunition to non-members, but it is not known why the weapons were given or what they were used for. 

This information was revealed by the SSA acting director-general Loyiso Jafta, who was testifying before the State Capture Inquiry on Tuesday.