A former undercover agent has exposed a shocking link between the old apartheid government and the US’ Central Intelligence Agency.
Timeslive reports that an ex-CIA operative was called on to stop the world’s most “dangerous communist” at the time, Nelson Mandela.
According to reports, CIA man Donald Rickard says the powerful US agency was called on to bring Madiba under control.
At the time, Mandela was evading authorities by pretending to be a driver.
eNCA reports that Rickard made the comments to British film director John Irvin, during the making of Mandela’s Gun.
During the interviews shortly before he passed away in March, Rickard said: “We were teetering on the brink here and it had to be stopped‚ which meant Mandela had to be stopped. And I put a stop to it.”
In interviews prior to this, the CIA man had denied any involvement in the arrest of the man who would go on to serve 27 years behind bars.
Rickard was a junior diplomat at the US’ Durban consulate at the time of Mandela’s arrest, reports Timeslive.
Mandela was arrested in 1962 while travelling between Durban and Joburg.
The details of how he was tracked down have never been revealed.