State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo has sought to muzzle Acting Director-General Loyiso Jafta from giving evidence on Tuesday at the State Capture Commission.
Dlodlo through her lawyers has asked that proceedings be adjourned to allow her to file an affidavit relating to the content of Jafta’s evidence.
Lawyer for Dlodlo, Dumisa Ntsebeza, says that his client is concerned that Jafta’s testimony may compromise state security.
Jafta’s lawyer Marumo Moerane, however, says his client is ready to proceed with his testimony.
“She would need to consider whatever it is that her own Director-General will be testifying about and she told us yesterday that she was none the wiser. Even though it was our intention to work as we always do throughout the night so that by now we have papers for a substantive application where we will be making a prayer for the adjournment of these proceedings pending the filing of those papers.”
State Capture live stream:
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has dismissed the application for a postponement of Jafta’s testimony. Zondo says no factual basis has been provided by Dlodlo to support the claim that Jafta’s testimony may compromise national security.
“There has been enough time since she received Mr Jafta’s affidavit – last evening until this morning. For her to say I have concerns that Mr Jafta’s evidence may compromise national security is based on the following which is in the affidavit is 123 here are the paragraphs we are concerned with – that has not been done and you have made reference to certain other points including section 12.1, I don’t think they assist. So as things stand, I am going to dismiss the application”
Politicisation
On Monday, Chairperson of the High-Level Review Panel into the State Security Agency Sydney Mufamadi testified that the panel found that there had been politicisation and factionalisation of the intelligence community over the past 10 years in contravention of the constitution.
The panel was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018 to investigate whether the SSA was conducting itself as a professional national service.
Mufamadi says the malfeasance where the intelligence community was appropriated for factional battles in the African National Congress(ANC) began with a 2009 proclamation by Zuma merging the country’s intelligence agencies into the SSA.
“It is difficult for anybody to say if the act of introducing the proclamation is an enabler for wrongdoing and in this instance, wrongdoing ensued after the introduction of the proclamation. It will be difficult for anyone to argue that there is no causal relationship between the two.”
Sydney Mufamadi’s testimony at the State Capture Commission:
