/ 19 November 2007

ID: More than one councillor under surveillance

Councillors other than Badih Chaaban may also have been under illegal surveillance in Cape Town’s spy scandal and police have ”a lot of information and detail” to back this up, the Cape Times has reported the Independent Democrats deputy leader Simon Grindrod as saying.

Grindrod was speaking on Sunday outside the Bellville South police station after he was questioned for an hour about his knowledge of the matter. His advocate, Johan de Waal, was present during the questioning.

”The police obviously wanted to verify certain facts about the illegal surveillance of councillors,” Grindrod said.

”I get the impression more than one councillor was under surveillance and it appears there is a lot of evidence.

”Police have received affidavits from a number of Cape Town councillors.”

The matter involves the council’s employment of private investigators to probe Chabaan’s activities during the floor-cossing period.

Cape Town mayor Helen Zille on November 9 named a replacement advocate to conduct an official probe into the spy affair. The first person she chose for the job, advocate Geoff Budlender, withdrew over a possible conflict of interest.

Zille — also leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) — has now asked advocate Josie Jordaan of the Cape Bar to lead the inquiry. – Sapa