Many would agree that it is rather uncanny for the National Intelligence Agency, overseer of our local spooks, to turn to the psychic powers of sangomas for divine protection.

Never in many, many years has it happened anywhere in the world: the spooks being spooked out of their wits by the ghostly spectre of graves.

Well, spare a thought for our faceless NIA operatives, whose bosses decided the other day to call - allegedly at a whopping R750000 price tag - 25 sangomas to cleanse one of its facilities.

The secret operation was reportedly prompted by the presence of the unaccounted graves at a NIA facility.

The NIA has confirmed the ceremony was held but denies claims by the Democratic Alliance that each sangoma was paid R30000.

Whatever the consultation fee, collaboration between spooks and psychics is unheard of in the history of espionage.

Ironically, sangomas can now boast of an unlikely band of common clients in their books: NIA spooks who rely on their supernatural powers for protection, and heist gangs who often turn to them for muti to make them invisible during robberies.

One thing's for sure, though, taxpayers have no ghost of a chance of knowing how much was really spent on the after-tears ceremony.

For good measure, we can rely on the Democratic Alliance not to lay the ghost of this comical saga to rest.