Spy boss loses her spy
Minister wants senior to hunt down whereabouts of Thulani Dlomo.
Intelligence Minister Ayanda Dlodlo has tasked her most senior official to investigate the whereabouts of top spy Thulani Dlomo. Dlomo, who previously headed the State Security Agency’s (SSA’s) controversial Special Operations (SO) unit, has apparently been AWOL since his return to the SSA earlier this year.
Dlomo was South Africa’s ambassador to Japan, but was recalled several months ago to resume his post at the SSA.
He has not been seen or heard from since. The SSA was previously unable to confirm Dlomo’s whereabouts, citing employer-employee confidentiality.
This is still the case, the minister said yesterday. But she said she has asked acting SSA director-general Loyiso Jafta to look into the matter, “to determine what needs to be done”.
Dlodlo said she could not discuss the details of Dlomo’s circumstances as this would be unlawful in terms of the labour law.
The minister said she had not personally seen Dlomo at work, but pointed out that he did not report to her, so this might not be significant. As Dlomo reports to Jafta, Dlodlo said the director-general would be best placed to update her on the issue.
Dlodlo said she would then be in a position to determine whether action should be taken against Dlomo in terms of the Labour Relations Act and the SSA’s own internal policies.
She said public servants typically were considered AWOL if they had not been at work for 30 days, but the rules were stricter for SSA employees, who are not employed in terms of the Public Service Act like other government employees. Dlodlo said Dlomo’s seniority would also be a factor in terms of how long he can miss work before being considered AWOL, if this was found to be the case.
On Wednesday, it was reported Dlomo had not been to the SSA’s headquarters in Pretoria, known as “The Farm”, since his return from Japan. This is according to an impeccable source in the intelligence community.
Vrye Weekblad also reported in April that Dlomo had all but disappeared.
Dlomo’s appointment to the SSA in 2017 by former president Jacob Zuma was controversial, because he was allegedly implicated in a tender scandal while employed by the KwaZulu-Natal government.
The SO unit he had headed before his Japan posting received searing criticism from the high-level panel on the state security agency, which released a report earlier this year into failings at the intelligence agency.
The report referred to the unit as a “law unto itself and directly served the political interests of the executive”.
The panel named a number of “illegal” activities undertaken by the unit under Dlomo’s watch. The panel recommended disciplinary and/or criminal prosecution where appropriate. – News24 Wire
Former ambassador has not reported for work