A former brigadier general of the South African Air Force has been sentenced to six months in a United States federal prison after admitting to acting as an unregistered agent of South Africa while employed at a high-security American research facility.
Portia Anyamba, 59, who was residing in Knoxville, Tennessee, received the sentence from a U.S. District Court after pleading guilty to acting on behalf of the South African government without notifying the U.S. Attorney General, as required under federal law. She also admitted to making false statements on a government security clearance application.
In addition to the prison term, the court ordered Anyamba to serve two years of supervised release and pay a fine of $9,500.
The case relates to her employment in 2023 and 2024 as a Program Management Operational Specialist in the National Security Program Office at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee, one of the United States’ leading scientific research facilities with responsibilities in national security, artificial intelligence, energy and advanced computing.
Federal investigators concluded that Anyamba was acting under the direction of the South African government while working in the United States. Authorities also found that she provided false information during the security clearance process.
According to investigators, she maintained regular communication with an intelligence officer linked to South Africa’s State Security Agency (SSA), who was assigned to the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C.
Court records showed that FBI agents monitored meetings involving Anyamba and South African government representatives in Knoxville during 2024. In November of that year, agents intercepted her before another scheduled meeting and seized a laptop she was carrying as part of the investigation.
Prosecutors further alleged that while applying for a U.S. government security clearance, Anyamba falsely stated that she had not maintained contact with foreign government representatives or foreign nationals over the previous seven years.
U.S. authorities said the conviction highlights ongoing efforts to protect sensitive national security facilities and ensure that individuals granted access to classified information meet the highest standards of integrity and transparency.
The FBI and the Department of Energy’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence jointly investigated the case, describing it as an important step in safeguarding U.S. national security from foreign intelligence threats.
South African government officials did not issue a formal comment on the sentencing.
