These are the main concessions Mac Maharaj made under cross-examination:

The Port Elizabeth meeting of Nadel Marumo Moerane SC, counsel for Bulelani Ngcuka, mentioned a list of names constituting, in Judge Joos Hefer's words, a "who's who" of the South African legal fraternity who attended that meeting in 1988.

Moerane: Would you believe these people if they say Ngcuka was not there.

Maharaj: I do not know. I don't have any information to dispute what you say.

Moerane: That is another nail in the coffin of the MJK Report.

The TRIP Ngcuka was supposed to have taken to dakar

Moerane: It is not correct.

Maharaj: I concede that it is wrong. I mentioned it (that it was wrong) to Shaik. He said that the Security Branch referred to all conferences about post-apartheid South Africa as trips to Dakar or safaris.

Moerane: This report is crystal clear. It says Ngcuka took a trip to Dakar. And it is false.

Maharaj: There are some things I do not agree with in that report. I cannot remember that Ngcuka was identified as an agent in the National Intelligence Service. I do not agree with Shaik about Dakar and I do not agree about the restrictions on Ngcuka's passport.

Moerane: I believe there are a series of question marks about the report.

Finally, after a long exchange with Moerane, in which Moerane implored Maharaj "to say I do not know", Maharaj said: "I do not know that Ngcuka was a spy."

And Moerane replied: "Now the whole of South Africa know that Mac Maharaj does not know whether Ngcuka was a spy or not."

With acknowledgement to The Star.