Panic has gripped South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC), following damning revelations on the abuse of the State Security Agency’s (SSA) powers over the past decade. The High Level Review Panel set up by President Cyril Ramaphosa to examine the workings of the SSA — an organization long shrouded in both secrecy and scandal — has finally concluded that the SSA was appropriated and used to wage factional political battles in the African National Congress (ANC) under former President Jacob Zuma’s administration . It also describes how the agency became a “cash cow” of sorts for those working both inside and outside the organization. The SSA has been in shambles over the past 10 years, particularly under the Zuma administration. The agency has been accused of serving the political interests of the ruling ANC, leading to serious concerns regarding national security. In response to the panel’s findings, the South African Communist Party (SACP) has emphasized that criminal charges should be lodged against those who are involved in the abuse of the country’s state intelligence services. “We made a principled call that all of those complicit in the politicization and abuse of our state intelligence, as well as those who participated in mismanaging and looting funds, must be held to account,” party…