Two former South African spy chiefs say nine years ago the CIA had flagged the danger posed by former President Jacob Zuma’s improperly close relationship with the wealthy Indian family the Guptas.
Both men were sacked by Zuma in 2011 for following up on this tip off from their U.S. counterparts.
Mo Shaik, who headed up the South African Security Service which deals with foreign intelligence threats, had close ties the CIA.
In 2011 he was asked by the U.S. agency why the Guptas had bought a uranium mine and where they planned to sell this strategic mineral.
The commission probing so-called state capture heard last week that the Guptas planned to become the sole supplier of uranium to the South African government for the nuclear power station they were pressing it to buy.
Shaik and the former head of the National Intelligence Agency Gibson Njenje now say they wish to testify before this commission headed by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
Shaik says he approached Zuma several times to tell him about the danger posed to state security by the Guptas.
Zuma told Shaik the Guptas were the only people prepared to help his son who became a rand billionaire through his connection with the Indian family.
In May 2016 Shaik and Njenje signed a call by 27 top public servants calling for an independent inquiry into state capture.