‘UK sent military officers on ANC mission’

The UK Ministry of Defence sent a group of military officers to SA to assess political threats to ANC rule, US media says.

Moscow - The UK Ministry of Defence sent a group of military officers to South Africa to assess political threats to the ANC rule in the country, US media reported Monday.

Officers from Britain's Royal College of Defence Studies were instructed to “assess the political threats to continuing ANC rule in South Africa”, the US media company VICE ascertained through a Freedom of Information Request.

VICE also discovered that the 16-strong delegation complied a report during the trip, which now remains classified.

The officers were allegedly told to “devise a medium-term strategy, with concrete deliverables, for the party to retain power at the next general election,” VICE reported.

The ANC has not commented on the media report while he UK Ministry of Defence told the magazine it was just an academic exercise aimed at developing analytic skills of the officers.

However, VICE obtained the itinerary for the group's trip, which revealed a number of unusual activities for a military delegation, such as numerous business meetings.

But ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa has reportedy said that the report was merely an attempt to distract South Africans from the UK’s real plan to unseat Zuma.

“We know they want to divert us from the real story,” Kodwa was quoted by News24 as saying.

The ANC will reportedly approach the Department of International Relations and Co-operation to raise the issue through formal channels.

SPUTNIK AND IOL