Weapons allegedly smuggled into Lesotho on Zuma's presidential jet after coup attempt

Spies assigned to protect former president Jacob Zuma by the State Security Agency (SSA) allegedly smuggled high-calibre assault rifles and pistols into Lesotho using his presidential jet.

Just days before the weapons were allegedly hidden on the private jet in September 2014, members of the Lesotho Defence Force had attempted to overthrow their government. Soldiers surrounded government buildings and police headquarters after then prime minister Tom Thabane tried to remove their chief, Lt-Gen Tlali Kamoli.  

Thabane, who had suspended parliament in June to avoid a no-confidence vote against him, was forced to flee to SA as the military took control of the capital Maseru, jamming radio stations and phones in the early hours of Saturday August 30.

Zuma arrived in his jet in Lesotho about 10 days later, meeting King Letsie III before meeting Thabane in an effort to resolve the political crisis which saw some calling for military intervention by the Southern African Development Community (Sadc). 

Thabane enjoyed a close relationship with Zuma; so close that in August 2014 he hired Zuma's friend Atul Gupta as his special adviser to market Lesotho in the Middle East. He issued Atul, his family’s business partner Salim Essa and another associate with diplomatic passports.

At the time, Thabane said Zuma introduced him to the Guptas and he hired them “to help scout for investment”. However, it emerged in the Gupta Leaks in 2017 that the Guptas and Essa planned to take over Lesotho's Mothae diamond mine and fund Thabane’s 2015 re-election campaign. The Guptas also co-opted Thabane’s son Potlako in the diamond mine deal, as they had co-opted Zuma’s son Duduzane.

Recently declassified SSA documents placed before the state capture commission allege that members of the SSA's Central Directorate for Special Operations (CDSO), led by the controversial former head of counterintelligence and ambassador to Japan Thulani Dlomo, smuggled the weapons into Lesotho using Zuma’s presidential jet. 

“There are also indications that, in September 2014, [SSA] armoury officials were instructed by ambassador Dlomo, through 'Johan'  [an agent's code name], to transport firearms including four R4 rifles and six pistols to a foreign country for unclear reasons. These were reportedly flown in the presidential aircraft. This coincided with a coup d'etat in that country,” reads an affidavit deposed by an SSA official known as Mr Y.

“Though the firearms were reportedly not used in that foreign country, CDSO members were seen there in the presence of ambassador Dlomo. It is concerning that SSA firearms were flown in the presidential aircraft to a volatile area.”

Mr Y, whose identity was sealed, submitted the affidavit after the commission asked the SSA for information regarding allegations of corruption and fraud.

There are also indications that, in September 2014, [SSA] armoury officials were instructed by ambassador [Thulani] Dlomo, through 'Johan'  [an agent's code name], to transport firearms including four R4 rifles and six pistols to a foreign country for unclear reasons

Mr Y was part of the SSA’s investigating team under Project Veza, which investigated financial irregularities and unlawful operations of parallel intelligence structures within the agency.

The allegations about the guns on the presidential plane were confirmed by another unidentified SSA operative, referred to as Ms K at the commission. Ms K confirmed details contained in the affidavit of Mr Y, who was unable to appear before the commission after being hospitalised.

An SSA insider and a former intelligence operative both told the Sunday Times this week that the arms were smuggled into Lesotho to protect Thabane and the Gupta family’s interests.

“Even though those weapons were not used, it was a criminal act to smuggle arms into Lesotho in a presidential jet and there is no reason for supposed presidential protectors to have been carrying those high-calibre firearms. This is the criminal element that law enforcement needs to investigate,” said the insider. 

The insider said it was unclear whether Zuma was aware of the guns on the jet. 

“What is clear is that they were acting in the interests of the Guptas the same way the Guptas were protected here even though it was clear they were involved in criminal acts in capturing the state. So Dlomo’s operatives were acting in line with that,” he said.

Zuma’s spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi declined to comment.

Mr Y told the commission how, between 2008 and 2009, Dlomo hired about 48 people, mostly from KwaZulu-Natal, for the SSA without an official recruitment and vetting process. Dlomo was then the security manager of the provincial department of social development and had no official role at the agency.

“The irregular access to and use of SSA firearms not only exposed the agency and the justice, crime prevention and security cluster to infiltration by individuals unaccountable within official SSA structures, but also exposed the president and the deputy president (Cyril Ramaphosa at the time) to risks posed by their being protected by individuals who were not security competent,” said Mr Y.

He said the CDSO was issued with 39 firearms between 2014 and 2015 at Dlomo’s request, including 11 R4 rifles. Only 21 firearms were returned in 2016. The outstanding weapons included assault rifles, submachine-guns and pistols, he said.

“In April 2018, 11 firearms were recovered, sometimes placing members of the SSA armoury in danger. In one case, members were instructed to meet unknown individuals, who were in possession of SSA firearms, at Durban's airport. These individuals were armed and only released the firearms once they had contacted ambassador Dlomo, who was in Japan at the time, for permission,” said Mr Y.

Dlomo, who was previously part of Zuma’s protection team, was appointed only in January 18 2012 as SSA’s general manager of special operations and a year later as the deputy director of counterintelligence. 

Dlomo's recruits, who eventually numbered about 27 as some left the SSA, were not formally employed by the intelligence agency but were recognised as “co-workers”. They were given the special task of protecting Zuma and his aircraft because of claims that the CDSO had identified “security deficiencies” that had left him “vulnerable to all sorts of threats”. According to Mr Y, Dlomo provided no intelligence assessment nor evidence to support the claimed threats.

“The restructuring of the SSA, which coincided with ambassador Dlomo’s appointment, saw these non-SSA members absorbed within CDSO and deployed to various structures within the justice, crime prevention and security cluster ... They were given access to SSA funds and resources and provided with firearms from the SSA armoury. Through the CDSO, the SSA assumed responsibility for Zuma's food and toxin security, his physical security and the static protection of the president’s aircraft. In doing so, funds and resources which should have been used by legitimate intelligence structures were channelled to this parallel structure, serving the interests of Zuma rather than the national interests,” Mr Y told the commission. 

In April 2018, 11 firearms were recovered, sometimes placing members of the SSA armoury in danger. In one case, members were instructed to meet unknown individuals, who were in possession of SSA firearms, at Durban's airport

—  Mr Y

The restructuring process and the approvals, which saw Dlomo having unfettered control of the CDSO, were handled by then-intelligence minister and Zuma ally Siyabonga Cwele.

SSA spokesperson Mava Scott declined to comment about the alleged smuggling of assault rifles and pistols to Lesotho but said investigations were under way into allegations of misconduct, fraud and corruption contained in the Zondo commission, the High Level Review Panel and July unrest reports.

“The issues and questions you are raising form part of a suite of matters that are being investigated through the recently appointed forensic firm. Working with the Investigative Directorate of the NPA, the forensic firm is making progress in uncovering most of these incidents and prosecutions will be pursued against all implicated individuals,” he said. 

Mr Y states in his affidavit that CDSO’s operations removed Zuma's protection from the police at a cost to taxpayers of about R20m a year from SSA’s R48m operational budget. Project Veza uncovered many unlawful acts by CDSO members which were also confirmed by the High Level Review panel led by Sydney Mufamadi, which found “instances of serious criminal behaviour which had taken place under the guise of conducting covert work, and that this behaviour may have involved theft, forgery and uttering, fraud, corruption, and even bordered on organised crime and transgressions of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.”

The review panel also found that under Dlomo, the unit was a “law unto itself” and served the personal political interests of Zuma, which was a “direct breach of the constitution”. 

Thabane was forced to retire in May 2020 and was charged with murdering his estranged wife, Lipolelo. In 2015, then Lesotho prime minister Pakalitha Mosisili fired the Guptas and revoked their diplomatic passports. 

Dlomo did not respond to questions sent via WhatsApp. When called, the man who responded became angry and demanded to know how the Sunday Times obtained his number. 

According to former SSA deputy director-general Lloyd Mhlanga’s affidavit at the commission, financial irregularities committed under the pretence of covert operations cost taxpayers R1.5bn.