US court jails former South African Air Force brigadier for acting as agent of South Africa

Portia Anyamba, a 59-year-old former South African Air Force brigadier-general, has been sentenced in the United States after pleading guilty to acting as an agent of South Africa and making false statements on a security-clearance form.

Sentence and charges

Anyamba was sentenced on 17 June 2026 by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville. As part of a plea agreement, she pleaded guilty to one count of acting as an agent of South Africa and one count of making false statements related to a security-clearance application.

The court ordered six months’ imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, and imposed a $9,500 fine.

Investigation and alleged conduct

According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, the investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Nashville field office and the United States Department of Energy Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence.

Plea documents state Anyamba worked as a programme management operational specialist in the national security programme office at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) during 2023 and 2024. ORNL is described in the documents as a Department of Energy facility dedicated to energy, innovation and national security.

Communications with South African intelligence

US authorities said FBI agents learned Anyamba regularly communicated with an intelligence officer identified in court documents as “IO-1“, who worked for the Republic of South Africa’s State Security Agency (SSA). The FBI knew IO-1 as the SSA’s then-deputy chief of station and former acting chief of station at the South African Embassy in Washington, DC.

In February 2024, IO-1 arranged a meeting in Knoxville with Anyamba. FBI agents surveilled the encounter and observed Anyamba meet IO-1 and another individual the FBI identified as affiliated with South Africa. The group met at a restaurant, later went to a nearby hotel, and after the meeting FBI agents watched Anyamba return to her residence, retrieve an item from her car and take it into her house.

US authorities say IO-1 and Anyamba planned another meeting in Knoxville. Before that meeting, IO-1 allegedly told Anyamba:

“Please remember to also bring the laptop with.”

On 7 November 2024, FBI personnel intercepted Anyamba in Knoxville’s Turkey Creek shopping district and retrieved a laptop from her custody.

False statements during security-clearance process

Anyamba was in the process of applying for a United States government security clearance. The application required applicants to complete an SF-86 form, which warns that providing false information may lead to criminal penalties.

According to court documents, Anyamba certified on the form that she had no contact with a foreign national and had not had contact with representatives of a foreign government in the past seven years. The documents state she knowingly answered “no” to both questions even though those answers were material and false.

The US also says Anyamba contacted individuals she listed as references and told them:

“I have just gotten information that they have started with the interviews. They are sensitive about foreign connections. So please don’t mention anything about the embassy”.

Official statements

Terence G. Reilly, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Nashville field office, said:

“Anyamba knowingly acted as an agent of a foreign country which placed national security at risk.”

Joshua D. Martineau, deputy director for counterintelligence in the Department of Energy’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, said:

“All across the country, each and every day, the FBI and our strategic partners will continue to work together to review intelligence and investigate threats to our national security to protect our citizens from foreign and domestic attacks.”

What the plea documents say

Key factual points in the plea documents include:

• Anyamba’s employment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 2023 and 2024.
• Regular communications with an SSA intelligence officer identified as IO-1.
• Surveillance of a February 2024 meeting in Knoxville and FBI observation of Anyamba retrieving an item from her car after that meeting.
• The November 7, 2024 interception in Knoxville’s Turkey Creek shopping district and retrieval of a laptop from Anyamba.
• Certifying false answers on the SF-86 regarding contact with foreign nationals and foreign government representatives.

This article is based on court and US Attorney’s Office statements published in US court documents.