A stony-faced Mac Maharaj presented himself as the paragon of virtue when he took the stand at the Hefer commission of enquiry this morning and repeated his allegation that the national prosecutor Bulelani Ngcuka "in all probability" had been an apartheid spy.

Maharaj said Mo Shaik -- Ngcuka's other main accuser before the Hefer commission - reported this to him in late 1989 or early 1990.

Maharaj told Judge Joos Hefer that Shaik was at the time in charge of the ANC's intelligence operations within South Africa and he himself had been co-ordinating the former liberation movement's mass struggle within the country as commander of Operation Vula.

Maharaj had infiltrated South Africa illegally and was dependent on the Durban-based Shaik's security briefings to combat the "permanent hazard" of government informers. At one stage, Maharaj wanted to contact the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (Nadel) and asked Shaik's opinion on the matter.

Shaik warned it would be unsafe because a high-level source within Nadel was believed to have been informing for the apartheid security forces.

Maharaj testified that he felt uncomfortable about this warning because Shaik could give him no reasonable clues as to the identity of the suspected spy. Shaik therefore investigated the matter further.

During late 1989 or early 1990 Shaik concluded in a follow-up report to him that Ngcuka was "in all probability" the agent operating within Nadel, Maharaj continued.

He added that he did not act against Ngcuka, but relayed the allegation to current deputy-president Jacob Zuma. Zuma was at the time overall head of ANC intelligence and worked outside the country.

Maharaj said he assumed that Shaik would also have sent the information on to Zuma through his own communication channels to the exiled ANC leadership.

Maharaj said that he had received a "polite" telephone call from Jovial Rantao, political editor at The Star newspaper, on July 31, 2003, who asked him if he knew that the Scorpions were investigating him and his wife.

Maharaj said he had pressed Rantao to reveal his source. Rantao refused, but said that it had come from someone "whom he had no reason not to trust".

Maharaj said he then telephoned Bulelani Ngcuka, whom by chance was with the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Penuell Maduna, in the Eastern Cape.

Maharaj said Ngcuka told him there was no truth in the rumours that his wife was being investigated by the Scorpions.

"He then handed the phone to the minister of justice who assured me there was no truth in the allegations," said Maharaj.

Maharaj said he asked Rantao when he had received his information, who replied that it had been in the last seven days. This led Maharaj to believe that his source was Ngcuka, whom had apparently given an off-the-record briefing to editors during this time.

Maharaj's long-awaited testimony before the Hefer commission of inquiry into the spying allegations against Ngcuka is to continue later on Monday.

All the main role players in the spy saga attended Monday's commission hearing in the Iustitia building in Bloemfontein. These included Ngcuka, Justice Minister Penuell Maduna, Maharaj, Shaik and journalist Ranjeni Munusamy.

With acknowledgements to Sapa and the Mail&Guardian.