Louise Flanagan
THE controversial Steyn report on Military Intelligence’s Directorate of Covert Collection has finally landed on President Nelson Mandela’s desk.
The report is the result of an inquiry by General Pierre Steyn, now retired from the military, carried out after the November 1992 Goldstone Commission raid on DCC headquarters. After the raid, MI members were accused of involvement in criminal activities, possibly including murder.
Steyn was brought in to investigate the directorate and personally made his report to then-president FW de Klerk. The report was never made public and nobody from MI was ever prosecuted, leading to allegations of a cover-up by the military.
Despite his role in sparking off the inquiry, Mr Justice Richard Goldstone did not receive a copy. Transvaal Attorney General Jan D’Oliviera, who would have been responsible for any subsequent prosecutions, also says he has not seen it.
Shortly after the raid, 23 members of Army Intelligence and MI were dismissed. Weeks later some 60 more MI members, all employed by DCC front company Pan Afrik Industrial Investment Consultants (PAIIC), were retrenched.
This week Mandela’s spokesman, Joel Netshitenzhe, said the president had been offered sight of the Steyn report. “Whether what was offered was complete or not is a different issue altogether,” said Netshitenzhe, adding that Mandela had had discussions with Steyn on the matter.
“The president’s approach to this issue is that he needs to receive a comprehensive report on the security situation. That process has already started. He has had a number of meetings with the leadership of the National Intelligence Service and the army.
“I’m not certain how far they have gone. I think most of the ground has already been covered,” said Netshitenzhe.
The Steyn report has been at the centre of a row between former PAIIC members and the military. Since losing their jobs some of the former PAIIC members, who flatly deny involvement in criminal or unauthorised actitivities, have been demanding that the Steyn report be released and their names cleared.
While there has been speculation that the Steyn report contained highly damaging information on military involvement in “third force” activities, the former PAIIC members believe Steyn found very little.
Until Netshitenzhe confirmed that the report was now on Mandela’s desk, nobody seemed to know what had happened to it. Steyn himself said this week he had given it to De Klerk after his investigation ended. “I advised him not to keep a report of that nature and content lying about in his office, so it was retained by the defence force.”
But South African National Defence Force chief General Georg Meiring said he knew nothing about it. “We have not got the report,” said Meiring. “Basically it was handled by General Steyn himself. What he did with it is his business.”
Steyn said the report covered not only allegations of criminal activity by MI members, but also detailed the military structures and regulations.
He said the sections of the report dealing with allegations of criminal conduct were handed to Jan D’Oliviera and the police.