Former intelligence minister David Mahlobo is facing a police investigation over illegal spying activities on critics of former president Jacob Zuma. A former State Security Agency (SSA) operative’s affidavit named more than three dozen high-profile figures who were under surveillance on former president Jacob Zuma‘s instruction through high-tech equipment provided by the Russians. Among them were obvious Zuma enemies like chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, his former finance minister Pravin Gordhan, and ex-Public Protector Thuli Madonsela. However, names that came as a surprise were journalism professor Anton Harber, former Sygnia CEO Magda Wierzycka, and finance minister Tito Mboweni.
Wierzycka is well known for her stance against corruption and she was instrumental in exposing both the #GuptaLeaks in 2017 and the auditing firm KPMG as a facilitator of state capture within government entities. Wierzycka recently posted on Twitter that she is well aware that she has been the subject of spying. The state security operative then confirmed that the former CEO is amongst a group of ‘strategic individuals’ whom he monitored through phone tapping and cellphone triangulation.