Nkandlagate: new twist

State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele yesterday confirmed that the findings of the investigation into the R206-million upgrade of President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead had been classified but distanced himself from the decision.

Cwele's spokesman, Brian Dube, said the report had been classified by the task team appointed by Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi to investigate the so-called Nkandlagate controversy.

This was done by the time the findings were shown to ministers in the cabinet's justice, crime prevention and security cluster.

He said: "They saw the report when it was tabled for their meeting and it was classified [by] the task team," Dube said.

Earlier, Cwele's ministry said under the current classification regime - the minimum information security standards policy - a document could only be classified by its author: Nxesi.

"The report is authored by the task team and owned by the commissioning minister of public works ."

Cwele's denial prompted the DA to again accuse Nxesi of a cover-up. DA challenged him to release the outcome of the probe into alleged irregularities in the use of public money for improvements at Zuma's private home.

DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko said the minimum information security standards policy was not law.

It was a classification policy adopted by the post-apartheid government to justify writing a new official secrets act.

If the authors had relied on it, the classification of the report was invalid, she said.

It was long expected that the report would be handed to parliament's standing committee on intelligence.

But 10 days ago, Nxesi said the document was classified in terms of the minimum information security standards policy.

The document, he said, would not be handed to Auditor-General Terence Nombembe or Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, who was investigating the upgrading of Nkandla.