President Cyril Ramaphosa appears to have run an intelligence operation to counter allegations of electoral sabotage by former president Jacob Zuma and ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule.
This is contained in a protected disclosure document that was submitted to parliament last week by advocate Winston Erasmus, who described himself as a former ANC researcher.
The report states that ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula and sports minister Zizi Kodwa were key figures who led the covert project named “Special Operations”.
Erasmus said ANC MP Richard Dyantyi was also linked to the operation and other “Thuma Mina” activities.
Therefore, he said, Dyantyi should reconsider his decision not to recuse himself as the chair of parliament’s inquiry into suspended public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office.
The document further said the operation targeted Zuma and Magashule in the build-up to the 2019 general elections. This after allegations that Zuma and Magashule initiated an elaborate fightback plan after the ANC’s 2017 Nasrec conference.
The plan included giving support to the formation of smaller parties to eat into the ANC’s voter base and squander the party’s electoral chances.
The ANC was then contesting for the first time with Ramaphosa as its leader and the face of its election campaign.
Sunday World learnt that the covert operation triggered the ANC’s 2019 investigation on the possible involvement of senior leaders in the mushrooming of smaller parties. The report found no evidence.
Erasmus said Ramaphosa’s Special Operations team succeeded in neutralising Zuma and Magashule’s alleged threats.
“The operation was authorised by president Ramaphosa in early 2019 when the breakaway group met him in the Eastern Cape,” reads the document.
He said a picture was available as evidence of the encounter. Sunday World has seen the picture.
“I was informed by two ANC colleagues who participated in the operation that the group indeed met with the president”.
He said Ramaphosa allegedly tasked Mbalula and Kodwa to oversee the operation.
Mbalula was then the ANC’s head of elections, and Kodwa was the head of Ramaphosa’s office in Luthuli House.
Sunday World reported in March that Mbalula blamed Zuma and Magashule for a plot to weaken the ANC.
Erasmus said that during the 2019 election campaign, he confidentially assisted the Special Operations Unit, part of the ANC Western Cape (WC) elections “War Room”.
“I was requested to observe the strictest confidentiality because they suspected the ANC’s secretary general (Magashule) was colluding with small opposition parties,” he said.
Erasmus said he was instructed not to mention any of the Special Operations work with the Legal Monitoring Security Task Team head, then the late advocate Hishaam Mohamed. “They believed he worked directly with the late deputy secretary general, comrade Jessie Duarte, and the then SG, comrade Ace Magashule.
“I used my commerce, legal, and political skill sets to craft a ‘Lawfare’ strategy to destabilise or destroy any fightback aimed at embarrassing Ramaphosa.
“It is worth mentioning that Zizi Kodwa was appointed by Ramaphosa as deputy minister of state security after the elections when the operation was still in play.”
Later, Ramaphosa also took over political responsibility at the State Security Agency.
“The relevance to Dyantyi is that he met with Kodwa and the implementing agents of the special operation in Cape Town in early May 2019,” said Erasmus.
He also said he had information, albeit hearsay, that Dyantyi was Ramaphosa’s chief campaigner in the WC for the ANC’s 2017 presidential race.
In 2019, Dyantyi was the head of organising, mobilising, and campaigns (OMC) for the ANC WC campaign before and during the general election.
“Dyantyi failed to disclose his OMC functions, CR17 campaign position, and ANC Special Operation activity for Ramaphosa’s private political interests and his own,” reads the document, which advocates for Dyantyi’s recusal as chairperson of Mkhwebane hearing. “It has been further alleged that Dyantyi would collect cash nationally to disburse in the Western Cape CR17 Siyavuma structures,” Erasmus alleged.
Erasmus said Mkhwebane found that Ramaphosa deliberately misled parliament about the CR17 campaign funds.
In his response, Dyantyi said Mkhwebane’s recusal application against him was fully considered based on all relevant facts and stands.
“I have responded to all the grounds raised therein and provided reasons for my decision, which was supported by the committee.
Accordingly, I will not revisit the decision,” he said, adding that he, however, reserved the right to deal with the contents of the protected disclosure.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said “We don’t respond to wild allegations”. Mbalula and Kodwa failed to respond to questions.
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