Zuma's Wife Was Taken into Custody After Poison Allegations: Jafta

Zuma's Wife Was Taken into Custody After Poison Allegations: Jafta

- Jacob Zuma's wife MaNtuli was allegedly taken into custody against her will by the State Security Agency

- This is according to the testimony of Acting Director-General Loyiso Jafta at the State Capture Inquiry

- Jafta claims that this had been in response to allegations of the ex-president's wife being behind a plot to poison her husband

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Former president Jacob Zuma's wife MaNtuli was taken into custody against her will by the State Security Agency.

Zuma's Wife Was Taken into Custody After Poison Allegations: Jafta
MaNtuli was allegedly taken into custody by the SSA. Image: RAVEENDRAN/AFP
Source: Getty Images

This is according to Acting Director-General Loyiso Jafta who had been testifying at the State Capture Commission on Tuesday.

The SSA had launched an investigation into allegations that MaNtuli was behind a plot to poison her husband which saw her taken into custody in 2015.

However, Jafta says that there is no evidence that Zuma had given the instruction to carry out what was named 'Project Tinroof'':

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“It does happen and it must have happened that functionaries at various levels would anticipate what would be agreeable to the person of the President, what would please the President and take such initiatives regardless of what the law says."

Jafta explained that he wanted to avoid creating the impression that the ex-president had always been aware of things done for his benefit:

"So, I don’t want to create an impression that Former President Jacob Zuma was always aware and consented to many of the things that were done presumably for his benefit either in his private capacity or in his public capacity.”

Jafta further explained that many operations were aimed at giving the ruling party an advantage:

“Particularly when we go towards an election, there would be projects intended and funded to enhance the political fortunes of the ANC and these projects were prosecuted there is AMCU (the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union) that at the time appeared to be much stronger than NUM (the National Union of Mineworkers) and then the State Security Agency is employed to weaken AMCU.”

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Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that the Commission heard how the former statesman had used the State Security Agency as his own personal playground from former minister of safety and security Sydney Mufamadi.

The testimony detailed how if Zuma was not allegedly coining it out of SSA coffers, he was utilizing the agency to persecute enemies, silence discontent with his administration or protect cronies.

Mufamadi claimed that Minister of State Security David Mahlobo and former SSA special operations unit head Thulani Dlomo were Zuma's inside men at the SSA.

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Source: Briefly News

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