The State Security Agency (SSA) is considering its next move after former investigative journalist and author Jacques Pauw refused to withdraw his controversial book on President Jacob Zuma.
“The SSA is going to consider the response and determine the next course of action‚” said SSA spokesperson Brian Dube.
The agency wrote to Pauw and NB Publishers‚ demanding that they remove the book titled The President’s Keepers from the shelves. The Sunday Times last week published articles based on the book‚ highlighting various allegations against the president.
The agency has threatened criminal prosecution and court action to take the book out of circulation.
The family of SSA director-general Arthur Fraser has also demanded that the book be retracted‚ claiming it “unjustly” accused them of “criminal activity”.
NB Publishers said to the agency in a letter: “Your generalised statement that the book is ‘replete with inaccuracies’ is not backed up by a single reference to any specific statement in the book that is alleged to be inaccurate.”
Speaking to SABC 2’s Morning Live on Tuesday‚ Pauw said it was too late for the agency to try and stop the distribution of the book as many copies had been sold.
“Instead of removing the book‚ we are printing more‚” Pauw said.
Pauw said he has received death threats since the publication of the book.
“I received a call from a private number while I was speaking to Ronnie Kasrils about his book. The person said: ‘If you don’t stop writing about Jacob Zuma‚ you are going to be dead.’”
He said the threats do not “overly” concern him.
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