A former South Africa Crime Intelligence official has exposed allegations that R45 million in secret police funds were diverted to finance an ANC party conference, reviving concerns about state capture and the politicization of security agencies.
The whistleblower claims the funds came from the controversial "Grabber" program—a Crime Intelligence operation ostensibly designed for covert law enforcement activities. Instead, the money allegedly funded the ANC's 55th National Conference in 2017, held during Jacob Zuma's presidency, IOL reported.
The revelation adds to a pattern of alleged abuse within Crime Intelligence during the Zuma era. Previous investigations documented how the unit's secret accounts—meant for paying informants and conducting undercover operations—were allegedly looted by senior officials and used for political purposes.
In South Africa, as across post-conflict societies, the journey from apartheid to true equality requires generations—and constant vigilance. The allegation that police funds bankrolled party politics represents precisely the kind of state capture that President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to combat.
The 2017 ANC conference proved pivotal: it elected Ramaphosa as party president, narrowly defeating Zuma's preferred successor Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. The irony that funds allegedly diverted under Zuma may have helped finance the conference that ended his political dominance adds a twisted dimension to the story.
Crime Intelligence has long been South Africa's most opaque security agency, operating with minimal oversight and vast unaccounted expenditures. The "Grabber" program specifically has featured in multiple corruption scandals, with investigators struggling to track where hundreds of millions in secret funds actually went.
The Zondo Commission into state capture, which concluded in 2022, documented extensive abuse of state institutions for political and personal enrichment. Crime Intelligence emerged as a particularly compromised agency, its leadership allegedly installed based on loyalty rather than competence, its budget treated as a political slush fund.
Ramaphosa has attempted to clean up the agency, appointing new leadership and strengthening oversight mechanisms. Yet progress remains slow, hampered by entrenched networks and resistance within security structures.
The timing of this revelation is significant. With national elections approaching and the ANC facing its most challenging political environment since 1994, questions about how the party financed past operations take on renewed urgency. South Africa's democracy depends on security agencies serving the constitution, not political parties.
Whether the allegations lead to prosecutions depends on the National Prosecuting Authority's capacity and political will—both tested repeatedly during the post-Zuma reform period. South Africa's justice system has shown independence, but securing convictions in complex corruption cases involving secret intelligence funds presents formidable challenges.
The whistleblower's decision to come forward reflects both courage and the slow strengthening of accountability mechanisms. South Africa's democratic institutions, for all their challenges, continue to generate revelations that would remain buried in less open societies.
