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The Right2Know campaign notes the conviction, pending appeal, of international drug trafficker Sheryl Cwele on 5 May 2011. This is an indication of a robust criminal justice sector which is still able to prosecute the powerful in connection with high-profile crimes.

However, the Right2Know campaign is alarmed at media reports that President Jacob Zuma and former President Kgalema Motlanthe were aware that Sheryl Cwele was implicated in international drug trafficking at the time that her husband was appointed to Cabinet (‘President knew about Sheryl’, Sunday Independent, 8 May).

The Right2Know campaign demands to know from President Jacob Zuma, who re-appointed Siyabonga Cwele to Cabinet as Minister of State Security in May 2009, whether he or officials within the Presidency had knowledge of the following:
• Was any unit or operative within the intelligence sector aware of allegations that Sheryl Cwele was implicated in international drug trafficking at the time of her husband’s appointment?
• If so, was this information shared with the President as part of what should be a standard intelligence risk assessment of all prospective members of Cabinet and their families in order to ensure the integrity of the executive?
• If so, why did the President not take action by refusing to reappoint him, or removing the country’s top spy from his position in the interests of national security?
• If not, why did the country’s spies withhold such critical information from the Presidency that could influence a crucial political appointment?

The Right2Know campaign calls on President Zuma to answer these questions publicly in the interests of national security and accountability in government. If the President was not aware of these allegations, as leader of the majority party he should urgently reconsider the passage of the SecrecyBill through Parliament which has been spearheaded by Siyabonga Cwele and the Ministry of State Security.