Mozambique: S. Africa suspends head of intelligence after Cabo Delgado mission behind Maputo’s back

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Mozambique: S. Africa suspends head of intelligence after Cabo Delgado mission behind Maputo’s back

6:06 CAT | 09 Jul 2021

File photo: Defence Web

South Africa’s State Security Agency (SSA) has suspended its international operations officer, Robert McBride, due to an undercover mission in Maputo, South African media reported.

“We can confirm that Mr McBride has been suspended but are not in a position to reveal further details due to the confidentiality agreement between employer and employees,” SSA spokesperson Mava Scott told TimesLive.

Also read: South Africa: Robert McBride is suspended following the bungled Mozambique operation

However, the South African website reported that four South African spies were detained in Maputo, following an SSA operation that “went wrong” in Mozambique earlier this year.

For its part, the News24 website added that the South African intelligence agents were detained while trying to gather information about the armed insurgency in the province of Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, noting that a South African drone was shot down by Mozambique’s State Security officials.

South African weekly newspaper City Press, which broke the news, said that the South African secret mission in Mozambique was approved by Robert McBride, apparently without the knowledge of the Maputo authorities, under an operational protocol between the two neighbouring countries, which establishes that the Mozambican authorities are notified about the activities of South African secret agents in Mozambique.

According to the newspaper, the four SSA agents were released after the intervention of South Africa’s Minister of State Security, Ayanda Dlodlo.

South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa visited Mozambique in April, along with the South African security minister, following the terrorist attacks in March on the Mozambican town of Palma, in the northern region of Cabo Delgado.

Source: Lusa