State Security Agency threatens criminal charges over Jacques Pauw’s Zuma exposé The President’s Keepers
NB Publishers has received a cease-and-desist letter for ‘Unlawful Publication of Classified Information’ from the State Security Agency (SSA) regarding Jacques Pauw’s explosive new book The President’s Keepers.
The book, according to the publisher, ‘exposes the darkest secret at the heart of Jacob Zuma’s compromised government’.
The letter demands that NB Publishers ‘cease and desist from making your book available to the public and/or publisher(s)’ and that it be withdrawn from retailers.
The letter asserts that The President’s Keepers is ‘replete with inaccuracies’ and ‘fake information’:
‘Noting your admission that you did not seek the views of the people apparently implicated, it is not surprising that this book is replete with inaccuracies. We record that it is the duty of the author, editor and publisher to ensure the accuracy thereof. In the circumstances, we hold them jointly and severally (sic) responsible for any repeat publication of this fake information.’
It continues:
‘While our client notes the inaccuracies contained in the book, it is more concerned with those parts which are of a criminal nature and constitute a violation of the relevant intelligence statutes and thus compromise the security of the State.’
The SSA claims that parts of the book ‘are either criminal or in violation of the Intelligence Services Act’ and states that ‘our client prepares to lay criminal charges’.
NB Publishers’s statement in response to the cease-and-desist letter reads: ‘NB Publishers stands by our author, Jacques Pauw, and the book, The President’s Keepers.’ Read the full statement below.
Read the full SSA letter, as published by Primedia Broadcasting:
Cease Desist by Primedia Broadcasting on Scribd
NB Publishers’s statement in full:
We received a cease-and-desist from the State Security Agency (SSA) demanding we withdraw #ThePresidentsKeepers by Jacques Pauw from stores. pic.twitter.com/iNOEjExpML
— NB Publishers (@NBPublishers) November 3, 2017
Categories Non-fiction South Africa
Tags Jacques Pauw NB Publishers News State Security Agency The President's Keepers
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