What do a songwriter‚ an ex-minister and a woke academic have in common? Meet Cyril’s spy detectives

15 June 2018 - 13:03 By Timeslive
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President Cyril Ramaphosa. File photo.
President Cyril Ramaphosa. File photo.
Image: ESA ALEXANDER

There was some scepticism on Friday as President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a panel to review the State Security Agency‚ along with a new(ish) security adviser.

But a closer look at the panel reveals that Ramaphosa has chosen a cast of highly regarded experts to probe the reported mess at the spy agency.

The president’s new security adviser is former minister and struggle veteran Charles Nqakula. The 10 panel members are equally stellar. They are:

  • Sydney Mufamadi‚ who was minister of safety and security from 1994 to 1999 and minister of provincial and local government from 1999 to 2008. Mufamadi‚ who is now an academic‚ recently made headlines after a documentary implicated him in a campaign to sideline Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in the ANC. Mufamadi denied the suggestions‚ saying there had been a collective decision to distance the movement from Madikizela-Mandela after she was surrounded by controversy. Mufamadi will chair the SSA review panel.
  • Barry Gilder‚ former Home Affairs director-general‚ struggle activist and known for his songwriting talents‚ which he apparently put to good use as an underground cadre.
  • Anthoni Van Nieuwkerk‚ who holds an MA in political science from the University of Johannesburg and a PhD in international relations from Wits University‚ Johannesburg. He has served on the South African Council on International Relations (SACOIR)
  • Prof Sibusiso Vil-Nkomo is a sought-after academic‚ who obtained his bachelor’s degree at Lincoln University in the US (Magna Cum Laude) and his Masters and PhD degrees at the University of Delaware in the US.

Currently‚ he serves as research professor at the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship at the University of Pretoria.

The prof was also one of the veterans who signed a petition seeking change under former president Jacob Zuma. The group eventually called for Zuma to step down.

Other luminaries include former police chief Andre Pruis‚ former DG of the SSA Silumko Sokupa‚ financial sector expert Murray Michell‚ lawyer Basetsana Molebatsi‚ Rhodes academic Siphokazi Magadla‚ who spoke in support of the Rhodes Must Fall kids‚ and Prof Jane Duncan from the University of Johannesburg‚ who two years ago presented a lecture that questioned whether South Africa was becoming a repressive state.

Below are some of the reactions elicited by the announcement on Twitter.

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