Over 10 years‚ police reported only two VIP security breaches — and neither was the poisoning of then-president Jacob Zuma in 2014.In a report on the government’s 6‚600-strong private army of VIP protectors that he says costs R2.6bn a year‚ Gareth van Onselen says he combed through South African Police Service (SAPS) annual reports from 2007-08 and 2016-17 looking for evidence of threats to VIPs.In 2010-11‚ "one security breach occurred during the second quarter while protecting a South African VIP at Tshwane University of Technology". And in 2011-12‚ "a security breach occurred at Danielskuil in the Northern Cape in respect of the protection of an MEC".Van Onselen‚ whose report was published by the South African Institute of Race Relations (IRR)‚ said this was "difficult to reconcile with the public record"‚ because as recently as August and November 2017, Zuma had confirmed being poisoned.Onselen quoted Zuma — who has 88 protectors‚ according to the report — as saying in August: "...
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