There were no al-Qaeda cells operating in South Africa, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said on Wednesday.
”(However) we don’t know if there are sleepers (undercover operatives activated when the need arose) in this country with terrorist intent,” Nqakula said, citing intelligence sources.
He was responding to a question from U Managing Conflict director Yvette Geyer at an international criminal justice conference in Cape Town.
Geyer was concerned about South Africa’s new terrorism legislation, in the context of the September 11 attacks and the United States’ homeland security system.
According to Nqakula, South Africa’s Terrorism Bill was articulated in such a way that the state would not violate the rights of accused.
”It doesn’t matter what they’ve done…they have the right to a solid defence,” he said, adding that Section 35 of the Constitution guaranteed this right to defence.
He said the legislation was different from other countries’, and did not ”allow people to be shipped off to Gautanamo Bay” for interrogation, without access to a defence.
Moreover, Nqakula said there was also a stipulation in the bill which placed an onus on the state to prove terrorist intent.
”When the charge is terrorism…the state will have to say to a High Court judge…(the accused) can’t get bail because of the following cogent reasons.”
Nqakula said there were a number of balances introduced into the bill to ensure that it will not become ”an instrument of oppression”.
He said South Africa needed the law because there was such a phenomenon as international terrorism.
”We don’t know at what point in South Africa we will have an incident such as the Madrid incident,” he said, adding that South Africa seemed to attract people with ”very shady” characters.
The Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Bill was finally passed earlier this year, but has been referred back to the National Assembly for amendments. The process started in 1995 and has already taken four drafts.
In previous drafts the bill was known as the Anti-Terrorism Bill, and the final bill was redrafted from the earlier version, which was unconstitutional and excessive. The bill defined the concept of terrorist activity and created an offence of terrorism in line with South Africa’s international obligations.
Among other things, the provisions that evaded much of the constitutional protection afforded the accused and the wide powers given the police in previous drafts, had been completely done away with, Nqakula said. – Sapa