Staff Reporter.
Image Supplied.
Axed former SSA top spy and former SA ambassador to Japan, Thulani Dlomo, has finally spoken out after he was accused of being one of the 12 people behind fuelling the unrest ravaging KZN and Gauteng.
Dlomo said he was taken aback when the news surfaced and instructed his lawyers to write to deputy state security minister, Zizi Kodwa, seeking clarification and evidence.
He claimed that when the violence started, he was approached by some State officials asking him to help it to quell the violence.
“Notwithstanding these defamatory and malicious statements by Deputy Minister Zizi Kodwa, I have been contacted by Senior members of government seeking my help and assistance to address the current difficulties, especially in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
“I have indicated to senior members of government that I am more than willing to assist. It is in our country’s interest to have stability and to protect the lives of innocent people and communities.
Furthermore, he blamed some media houses for running articles about him and using a picture of him in Zulu regalia as an attempt to fuel the perception of “ethnic mobilisation.”
Meanwhile President Cyril Ramaphosa said the instigators of the mayhem that engulfed Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal will not be allowed to ignite anarchy and spread instability.
The President said this during an oversight visit to eThekwini, in KwaZulu-Natal, during which he assessed the impact of recent public violence and the deployment of security forces.
The two provinces – which are two of the country’s leading economic hubs – sustained tens of billions of rand in losses when businesses were looted and destroyed during sustained public violence. Over 117 people have died during the unrest while over 1400 have been arrested.
The President conceded that government could have done better in managing its response to the protests.