Sometimes the strangest things come out in court, and that’s certainly true for the civil trial going on in the Western Cape High Court at present.

The trial was brought on by Major-General Andre Lincoln, who is seeking R15 million damages for an alleged malicious prosecution that hurt his career, but it’s yesterday’s bombshell about how the ANC intended to fund the 1999 election campaign that has turned heads.

News24 with the details:

This allegation was contained in a statement made by a former member of an elite investigative unit set up by then-president Nelson Mandela.

The member said another ex-member of the unit, Abraham Smith, had made the claims.

“He asked me if I knew why [an informant] was being pushed to infiltrate the drug scene so fast.

“I did not answer him, but he informed me that the reason was the fact that the African National Congress was in financial difficulty and that they required money urgently for the 1996 elections,” the statement said…

The member who made the statement said she understood this to mean that the informant was going to sell drugs “to get finances for the ANC”.

Her statement [was] made two decades ago.

Leonard Knipe, a former high-ranking policeman, was then cross-examined by Advocate Johann Nortje, who is representing Lincoln:

Nortje asked Knipe about the claims that the ANC was desperate for money for its 1999 election campaign so planned to sell drugs.

Knipe replied: “There’s no evidence to that.”

Nortje said the allegations were very serious and Knipe said that would be the case if the allegations proved to be true.

However, Nortje then pointed out that if the allegations were indeed true, these would no longer be allegations, but fact.

“These are serious allegations about drug smuggling to fund the election campaign. Did you open a docket?” Nortje asked Knipe.

Knipe said he did not, but neither had others, who had known about the claims, including Lincoln.

I guess we will have to wait and see if more comes to light on this matter.

I wouldn’t put it past the present day ANC, that’s for sure…

[source:news24]