Speaker, colleagues, including the new deployed members of the movement led by Comrade Mnyamezeli Booi, who is a Whip, the approach of the ANC as a ruling party in dealing with crime, corruption and access to justice has been premised on the National Crime Prevention Strategy - a strategy that was developed in 1995. This strategy was under the stewardship of Dr Bernard Fanaroff. The strategies and tactics and also the structures that have been established on the matter we are dealing with now ...
... lomufi esikhuluma ngaye njengamanje, iDSO ... [... this disbanded DSO we are talking about ...]
... were based on the National Crime Prevention Strategy - a strategy that has never been reviewed since 1995. This means we are now engaging on this process after 12 years, trying to look at how to deal with crime.
You will agree with me that crime is getting very complicated as much as it is getting very complex and sophisticated in terms of form and character. It is in this context that the ANC-led government started the process of reviewing the criminal justice cluster in the Republic of South Africa. In the process of reviewing and restructuring the crime prevention strategies, we started with the DSO and we also looked at our crime combating abilities. In the review process, we found that the establishment of the DSO was a fatal mistake as we managed to disperse our limited resources between the SAPS and the DSO in terms of investigation officers. We are the first to admit that the SAPS itself needs to be drastically overhauled so that we are poised to discharge our responsibilities. However, we had to start somewhere.
Several areas were discovered in the review process. It was discovered that the structure of the DSO was a misfit in our institution. It had a problem of roles that overlapped between itself, the SAPS and intelligence officers. This underlying concern stems from noncompliance with the constitutional obligations of our country. Judge Khampepe reported and found this on the DSO, and I quote:
I venture to opine that I find such conduct to be out of kilter with our Constitution, reprehensible, unprofessional and corroding the public's confidence in the law-enforcement agencies.
I am reminding this House that this report came about after many of our people in this country raised concerns regarding the abuse of power by the DSO. The Public Protector pronounced the violation of rights of the ANC president, Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Mhlanganyelwa Zuma. The National Assembly, after the ad hoc committee that dealt with the matter, never made a follow up on the issue of the violation of his rights. Now, I am saying this matter has to be reviewed. The National Assembly must make a follow-up on the recommendations of the ad hoc committee on this matter.
Another example is the example of Phumzile Matshoba, the mayor of Ntabankulu Local Municipality. This comrade, after he discovered that the Scorpions was looking for him, handed himself over. He went to the police station, and the Scorpions arrived there. When they arrived, they took him to the streets, called television cameras on him, handcuffed him and then arrested him. This was not necessary because he had actually handed himself over. He was charged 49 times. All of those charges were dropped. The Scorpions lost on this matter.
Another example is that of Thuso Motaung, the former SABC presenter who was arrested in Bloemfontein. When the Scorpions arrived, the television cameras were not there. They called the cameras to come and humiliated him when they arrested him. This showed that their interest was on ensuring that they violated the rights of South Africans because in terms of our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, there is a right to privacy. At the same time, we are a signatory to the International Labour Organisation, ILO, in terms of rights. In this case, this body has been continuously, with impunity, violating the rights of South Africans. They also confiscated taxis which didn't even belong to Mr Motaung. Up until today, some of his belongings have not been taken back. Now, tell us, can you continue to maintain a body that is supposed to be professional and uphold the law to violate the law continuously. If it was in other developed countries in the world, this body could have been disbanded a long time ago. I appreciate the fact that the ANC is an organisation that is patient and tolerant in this case because it was supposed to have dealt with this organisation.
Despite the views of Judge Khampepe, the DSO continued to gather intelligence information illegally. They also continued to gather information which had been confirmed in the Browse Mole report wherein they said the president of the ANC was trying to sabotage this government, supported by Angolans and Libyans. They were dividing the ANC, the nation and Africa as a continent by alleging that these African countries were sabotaging a coup in this country. Therefore, this body is not a body that is supposed to be kept. It is a body that, to us, has been running and utilising apartheid operatives - some of them. You can see this because when they gathered intelligence information, they used information peddlers who were not helpful. Therefore, we are saying people who say we are supposed to keep this body are incorrect. I am asking the opposition here that if they are so averse to the ANC's Polokwane resolutions, why do they support floor-crossing? [Interjections.]