Jessica Bezuidenhout reports for the Sunday Times of South Africa in an article titled, “Staff under scrutiny for arms-probe leak.” Excerpt:
INVESTIGATORS probing South Africa’s R66-billion arms deal have been told to undergo lie-detector tests and lay bare their private telephone records while their bosses hunt down staff suspected of leaking information to the media.
Auditor-General Shauket Fakie confirmed this week that 25 investigators, some from his office, had already signed affidavits in which they agreed to be subjected to lie-detector tests.
Fakie said the action against staff was part of an internal probe to identify those responsible for leaking information not included in the official arms report, tabled in Parliament in November, to the press.
Investigators who signed the four-page document have opened the door to possible prosecution or disciplinary action by their bosses. Those who refuse to sign cast a cloud of suspicion over themselves.