Those involved in lawful protests have nothing to fear from an intelligence probe into such actions, Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils said on Monday.
”Anybody who transgresses the laws of the country and foments violence, then obviously that is a criminal offence and that is to be dealt with,” he told SAFM.
”But people who are just involved in political social protest, that [are] not involved in violence, have nothing to fear.”
Kasrils confirmed the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) is ”looking into” what is behind a recent spate of protests over housing and service delivery.
The agency’s involvement has drawn sharp criticism.
Kasrils said the NIA’s brief is to investigate perceived or predicted actions that could destabilise the country.
”What is happening is that in those areas where we have seen disturbances take place, they [the NIA] are looking into what is behind it.”
The matter was already raised in his budget speech in Parliament.
Kasrils said: ”We are trying to discern what is happening and where it is simply rooted in social protest; we will tell government that.”
On Sunday, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said it appears police are trying to scare people from raising their legitimate complaints about a lack of housing.
Cosatu Western Cape secretary Tony Ehrenreich said current state action harks back to old apartheid tactics or is an attempt to undermine the right to legitimate protest.
NIA spokesperson Lorna Daniels said the department will ”interact with people at local government and in communities”.
She said Kasrils appealed for calm and cooperation, which is important to resolve the situation. — Sapa