African National Congress (ANC) Member of Parliament, Khusela Sangoni-Diko, and member of the Ad Hoc Committee investigating allegations made by SAPS KwaZulu-Natal provincial head, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, said that there are clearly problems within the State Security Agency (SSA) that warrant greater attention.

Sangoni-Diko was talking on the side of the Ad Hoc Committee probing the allegations Mkhwanazi made of police corruption and interference, where she was discussing her thoughts on Mkhwanazi’s testimony, and some of the explosive claims that have since come to light.

DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard has faced mounting pressure to step down from the committee after explosive allegations that she leaked classified Crime Intelligence information.

The bombshell claims were made by Mkhwanazi, who told both the Madlanga Commission and Parliament that Kohler Barnard unlawfully disclosed top-secret intel, and that this sparked targeted attacks on the Crime Intelligence unit.

Sangoni-Diko said the ANC has greatly welcomed the intervention made by Mkhwanazi to bring these issues to the fore.

“We’re obviously gravely concerned about the issues that he’s raising, especially the alleged infiltration by criminal syndicates of our law enforcement system. The evidence that he’s put before the committee speaks to deep-rooted problems, and we think that we’re getting somewhere in understanding it, but I mean, as he says, it may just be the tip of the iceberg,” Sangoni-Diko said.

Sangoni-Diko added that what they are hoping to identity as part of the inquiry is gaps, especially in legislation, “and we want to look at executive action, and also how parliament has failed Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi, because to do that will allow us to develop a report that’s got binding recommendations.

“And they are binding in this case because they’ll be adopted by the National Assembly, unlike those of the Madlanga Commission where the executive can decide whether to implement them or not”.

“Testimony is ongoing, and we’ll still be probing a lot of the issues. I think we do have grey areas that we want to get to the bottom of. As far as we are now, I think we’re satisfied with the level of information that he’s giving, and the openness in terms of his testimony, and we’ll be looking at how we take that forward,” Sangoni-Diko added.

“I think we need to study some of his recommendations. He speaks about the fact that he thinks there are legislative gaps – especially as it relates to the functions, the powers of provincial commissioners. He speaks to a recommendation around the devolution of powers, and we want to understand how that is supposed to work within a unitary police service.

“When he speaks about the location of crime intelligence, and you know, what sort of reporting structures should be there. This is not work that’s starting from scratch.

“We have (previously) had a high-level panel review into the State Security Agency, and maybe we need to look at how we take that forward in terms of the broader intelligence services. It’s not a mandate of this ad-hoc committee, but that would be something perhaps the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence, together with the Executive, would need to consider, but there are clearly problems there, and it warrants greater attention,” she said.

On the allegations levelled against Kohler-Barnard, she said that the ANC has pushed very hard for this process to be insulated from bias, and that is the reason why they asked that the DA should consider having Kohler-Barnard recuse herself.

“I think today Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi even went deeper into that issue, intimating that she is possibly guilty of criminal conduct. Now that is not something you can sweep under the carpet, and we will be asking what action has been taken by the general himself or any of the other relevant authorities once this information came to light.

“If you listen to the general, he makes allegations about other members of Parliament that perhaps he has not yet mentioned besides Honourable Kohler-Barnard and Honourable (Fadiel) Adams, and I think that’s something we need to get into,” she said.

“You can’t have a senior police officer alleging that these syndicates operate across all three arms of the state, and we don’t want to get to the bottom of this. There must be no holy cows in this process.”

theolin.tembo@inl.co.za

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