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Yuni s Shaik, lawyer to former transport minister Mac Maharaj and foreign affairs official Mo Shaik on Thursday cautioned against one-sided reporting of the proceedings at the Hefer Commission of Inquiry.

Retired Judge Joos Hefer is investigating claims by Maharaj and Shaik's brother, Mo, that National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ncguka was a spy for the apartheid security establishment and that he has abused his current position.

In an apparent reference to questions over Shaik and Maharaj's absence from the hearings on Wednesday and Thursday, Yunis Shaik, in a long statement, said Hefer had directed his clients to testify about their allegations on November 17.

The statement was released amid mounting pressure on the trio to provide hard evidence to back their allegations.

The commission again officially requested them this week to provide documentation to prove the claim.

In his response, Yunis Shaik said the commission last week also undertook "at the urging of my clients to source and procure various documents of relevance".

Shaik said the reason for this was that his clients needed to retrieve, at short notice, evidence that had been stored away for many years.

"Ngcuka's spokesman Sipho Ngwema has accused my clients of 'manufacturing' evidence and documents relating to the (African National Congress) investigation into Mr Ngcuka.

"We therefore saw it fit to recommend that original documents and files handed over to the state intelligence agencies by the ANC be sourced to dispel the notion that my clients are engaged in a sinister campaign aimed at discrediting Mr Ngcuka," Shaik said.

He added that the postponement had, however, resulted in a barrage of one-sided evidence being presented to the commission -- and reported in the media.

The three had "no problem" with this because they believed once Mo Shaik and Maharaj presented their evidence a different picture would emerge.

However, it was difficult for them to continuously respond in the media to testimony, allegations and versions of events as they arose at the commission.

"This impacts on, and could prejudice, the evidence they are to present to the commission. I would like to point out that my clients volunteered their assistance to the commission but they are required to pay their own legal, travel and accommodation costs. This is proving to be an impediment to us appearing before the commission on a daily basis to cross-examine witnesses and provide further assistance to the commission," Shaik said.

"My clients are not conducting their own investigation into the spy allegations, as is being reported in the media, but are rather verifying information which they are to present to the commission.

They are perfectly entitled to do so."

Shaik said the commission was told on Wednesday by evidence leader Kessie Naidu that he had been called by commission secretary John Bacon regarding the alleged confession this week by Vanessa Brereton that she was agent RS452.

"I wish to state that I was not aware that my response was to be entered into the record of the commission. It is true that I told Bacon that it was never my client's contention that the National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka was Agent RS452."

"I wish to draw the media's attention to the front page lead in City Press on Sunday, September 14, where the concept of 'false flagging', particularly in the context of Ngcuka's case, is explained."

The story stated that the RS-number was used as a "false flag" to hide the agent's identity.

The concept was further explained by Mo Shaik in an eTV documentary on the spy allegations screened on September 16.

"My clients stand by their earlier statements regarding the investigation into Mr Ngcuka conducted under Project Bible. The admission by Brereton that she was Agent RS452 does not in any way affect the substance of the investigation that was conducted by ANC intelligence. My clients will provide further detail on the matter when they begin their testimony to the Hefer Commission on November 17."

Shaik urged the public to resist the temptation to draw conclusions on the matter before hearing all sides of the story.

He also said the commission needed respect and should not be undermined by a "parallel media inquiry".

Hefer on Thursday said the Shaiks and Maharaj would have to apply to recall witnesses if they wanted to cross-examine those who testified before the commission while they did not attend.

The judge would then make a ruling only after considering their reasons.

Ngcuka's former comrade-in-arms Letha Jolobe testified on Thursday.

He averred that Maharaj was apparently fishing for clues to substantiate his allegations against Ngcuka. Maharaj had contacted Jolobe to inquire about Ngcuka's activist past only after the accusations had been levelled, Hefer was told - Sapa

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