Infighting in the ruling African National Congress alliance is threatening the proper functioning of South Africa’s security apparatus and critical constitutional freedoms, the Democratic Alliance said on Monday.
Reports of the alleged distribution of hoax e-mails aimed at discrediting people such as ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe and DA leader Tony Leon are cause for grave concern, it said in a statement.
Following the suspension of senior National Intelligence Agency (NIA) officials for authorising alleged illegal surveillance, Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils should give an assurance that no political-party leader, including Leon, has been or will be put under surveillance of any sort.
He should also announce what will be done to stop further abuses of power.
”While … Kasrils is to be commended for taking swift action against senior NIA officials for their alleged sanctioning of illegal surveillance, this does not mean that the problem has been fully dealt with.”
Claims that Kasrils himself has become entwined in a feud between camps supporting President Thabo Mbeki and his axed deputy Jacob Zuma are worrying, the DA said.
Kasrils is alleged to have ignored previous complaints from some individuals about being placed under unauthorised surveillance, but was ”quick to act” against NIA director general Billy Masetlha, who the DA said is a known Zuma supporter.
”In light of the allegation that Kasrils only acts in defence of the Mbeki faction of the ANC, he must give the assurance that he is not affected by the various camps within the ANC.”
Kasrils should give urgent attention to the mandate of the NIA, which the DA said is open to wide-scale abuse.
”The definition is so broad that the NIA could even spy on any opposition leader.”
The party said it will raise the issue in Parliament’s joint standing committee on intelligence.
”The South African public has been justifiably unsettled by the flurry of allegations surrounding the NIA. It is time that the minister and the president put their concerns to rest.”
The intelligence ministry warned the public on Sunday to disregard ”sinister” e-mails doing the rounds, which it said are ”clearly fraudulent and aimed to cause confusion”.
The messages, ”which are obviously not genuine correspondence between the individuals concerned”, will be investigated as part of the inspector general of intelligence’s ongoing probe into claims of unauthorised surveillance, the ministry said.
It described the e-mails as ”crude, sinister and clearly fake, but of concern given the damage they could cause if believed”.
On Monday, the ministry declined to go into any further detail, except to say the e-mails are purported to have been authored by top government officials and senior politicians, and are aimed at smearing people it declined to identify.
Spokesperson Lorna Daniels could not say among whom the messages have been distributed, or when the inspector general’s probe will be completed. No deadline has been set.
Masetlha; his deputy, Gibson Njenje; and NIA general manager Bob Mhlanga have been suspended pending the probe into claims of ”serious misconduct”.
The suspensions followed the apparent illegal surveillance of politician-turned-businessman Saki Macozoma.
The ministry has denied that the suspensions were politically motivated. — Sapa