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Sathyandranath Ragunanan "Mac" Maharaj OLS (born 22 April 1935 in Newcastle, Natal) is a retired South Africa politician, businessman, and former anti-apartheid activist. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), he was the first post-apartheid Minister of Transport from 1994 to 1999. He was later the official spokesperson to the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma.
While at the university, Maharaj was involved in student government and activism. He served on the Students' Representative Council, campaigned against segregation of students and boycotted the racially divided graduation ceremonies. He also edited the Student Call newspaper which gave him some experience in journalism. After the 1956 Treason Trial, Maharaj was asked to run the leftist New Age (South African newspaper) as many of the former members had been arrested, including Nelson Mandela.
Maharaj, unable to obtain a permit to continue to study law in South Africa, moved to the UK in 1957. He eventually enrolled to continue his LLB at the London School of Economics in 1959 as a part-time student. Already a leftist and involved in politics, Maharaj joined the British Communist Party, and during this time it is reported that Maharaj went to East Germany under the alias Das Gupta and received military training from alleged South African aligned Soviets. The official reason that he went to Germany was to gain experience with "printing techniques," but he also received training in sabotage and specifically dynamite. Maharaj returned to the SACP as something of a publishing director, as well as bomb maker, in the early 1960s.
During his time in prison, Maharaj completed a B.Admin, an MBA and the second year of a B.Sc degree before his release on 8 December 1976.
After being released from the Robben Island prison in 1976, Maharaj was deployed by the ANC to Zambia in 1977. He was elected to the National Executive Committee of the ANC in 1985 as the first non-African member. From 1988 to 1990 Maharaj worked underground in South Africa as part of the ANC's Operation Vula, which was a project to infiltrate the ANC's top leaders back into South Africa. During this time Maharaj worked with Schabir Shaik's two brothers, Yunis Shaik and Moe Shaik, also members of the ANC. Maharaj reported to the then ANC intelligence chief Jacob Zuma.
On 6 July 2011 he was appointed by Jacob Zuma as his Spokesperson with immediate effect.
In March 2007 the South African newspaper, City Press, published allegations that Maharaj's wife Zarina opened a Swiss bank account in 1996, and two days after opening it, received over $100,000 into the account from Schabir Shaik. Six months later, in March 1997, the same Swiss account received a further $100,000 from Schabir Shaik.
In November 2011 the South African newspaper Mail & Guardian attempted to publish further allegations about both Mac and Zarina Maharaj, in relation to their interviews by prosecutors in 2003, but did not do so after Mac Maharaj laid criminal charges against the newspaper for allegedly infringing the laws protecting the secrecy of the 2003 prosecutor interviews.
Maharaj has never been charged by South African prosecutors supposedly because it would have been difficult to prove that Maharaj had corrupt intentions when he and his wife received money from Schabir Shaik.
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