Final salute to South African Navy Commodore who spies for the Soviet Union against apartheid John Maytham speaks to Dr Rob Adam, former Director General of the Department of Science and Technology, former CEO of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, former Managing Director of the SKA Radio Telescope project, and a fellow political prisoner of Dieter Gerhardt, following news of the former South African Navy commodore’s death. Gerhardt is one of the most controversial figures in South Africa’s military history, rising to senior rank in the apartheid navy while secretly working for Soviet military intelligence and passing highly sensitive South African and Western military information to the USSR during the Cold War. Adam says he believes Gerhardt’s motivation is rooted in principle rather than personal gain, describing him as deeply anti-racist and anti-apartheid, and adds that Gerhardt remains discreet about the operational details of his espionage, speaking only in broad terms about his work. For Maytham and Adam, Gerhardt’s legacy remains deeply contested: to some, he is a traitor, while to others, he is a committed anti-apartheid activist who risks everything for a cause he believes is just.

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