New evidence has come to light that may see the Hefer commission of inquiry taking a new turn with its probe into spying allegations against prosecutions chief Bulelani Ngcuka.

Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana dropped a bombshell yesterday, saying he had passed sensitive new information on to the Hefer commission. The evidence, divulged by an individual in Eastern Cape, related to top government officials, private individuals and various institutions, Mushwana said.

The information, which is being kept secret until verified, may shed further light on alleged spying activities by senior officials within the African National Congress, certain aspects of which may fall outside the jurisdiction of the commission.

This could see the commission coming under pressure to widen its scope. Alternatively, Mushwana could be called upon to investigate aspects of the information.

This came as former transport minister Mac Maharaj, who is among those making the allegations against Ngcuka, said he was not deterred by the revelation that former Eastern Cape human rights lawyer Vanessa Brereton was Agent RS452, and not Ngcuka as he had claimed.

"The latest revelation certainly makes things more interesting and I will be there (before the Hefer commission to testify) on November 17," Maharaj said.

Maharaj stood by his earlier statement that Ngcuka was investigated by the African National Congress in the 1980s, and that the investigation had revealed that there were sufficient grounds to conclude that he was "a probable" agent.

These allegations triggered Mbeki's appointment of the Hefer commission, whose brief was subsequently widened to include claims that Ngcuka and Justice Minister Penuell Maduna unlawfully misused the prosecuting authority for their own ends.

But Ngcuka is still not in the clear, despite Brereton's confession to Independent Newspapers that she was Agent RS452. The commission said yesterday it would not be influenced by the confession and would continue to investigate whether Ngcuka had been a spy, in terms of the mandate given to it by Mbeki.

"There are other issues that we are investigating," said commission spokesman John Bacon. "If he (Ngcuka) is not Agent RS452, we still have to investigate whether he may have operated as a spy under another code name."

Brereton has agreed to submit a detailed statement about her work as an Eastern Cape spy for the apartheid government to the commission, but the document is expected to be handed over only in the next month. Her affidavit is expected to outline how she was recruited by security branch captain Karl Edwards.

Ngcuka was pleasantly surprised that Brereton had chosen to come forward, according to his spokesman Sipho Ngwema.

With acknowledgements to Xolani Xundu, Chantelle Benjamin and the Business Day.