Intelligence law to be reviewed

Legislation and procedures governing intelligence services will be reviewed in a bid to avoid "future abuses", Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils said on Wednesday. This was aimed at determining "whether there are any gaps or ambiguities that need tightening up", the minister said in a statement. "I intend reviewing the legislation, internal regulations and operating procedures that currently govern the intelligence services," Kasrils said. "In light of the recent events, it is important to look at interventions necessary to prevent any future abuses occurring in the intelligence community."

Kasrils said the country's intelligence services were required to perform their functions in defence of the national interest and in terms of the constitution. "In addition, I will be developing a civic education programme aimed at entrenching a culture of political non-partisanship and constitutionalism throughout the intelligence services." His spokesperson, Lorna Daniels, said a review team had yet to be set up. It was not known by when the exercise would be concluded.

Kasrils recently suspended national intelligence agency director-general Billy Masetlha and two other senior officials pending an ongoing probe into claims of "serious misconduct". This reportedly related to the unauthorised surveillance of politician-turned-businessman Saki Macozoma. The matter has been linked in the media to a succession battle in the ANC between President Thabo Mbeki and his axed corruption-accused deputy Jacob Zuma.

Source: Mail & Guardian

South Africa: nearly one million farmworkers evicted since 1993

A recently released survey revealed that evictions from South African farms have accelerated under the African National Congress (ANC) government. Between 1993 and 2004 a total of 942,303 people were evicted, whereas under the apartheid regime, from 1984 to 1993, 737,114 people were evicted.

Source: World Socialist Web

The man who watches over SA's spies

The all-powerful inspector-general of intelligence, Zolile Ngcakani, bared his teeth this week. In a week when South Africa was rocked by allegations that senior intelligence officers had abused their official positions, Ngcakani came to the fore, acting decisively in an exercise designed to calm fears among citizens of this country.

In his first high-profile case, Ngcakani's work has led to the removal from office of three high-ranking intelligence officials: Billy Masetlha, Gibson Njenje and Bob Mhlanga. It took Ngcakani just under three weeks to investigate and present reports to Ronnie Kasrils, the intelligence minister, which showed that the National Intelligence Agency had undertaken illegal surveillance of Saki Macozoma, businessman and politician.

Ngcakani, who was appointed in January last year, could not have wished for a more high-profile case to highlight the work of his office. South Africa had been without an inspector-general for two years after the resignation of Faizel Kader. Kasrils uses superlatives when he speaks of Ngcakani. In introducing him to the media on Friday, the minister emphasised the power that the office of the inspector-general wields. "His role is to supervise the work of the intelligence community in toto, from the NIA, the South African Secret Service and the National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee to crime and military intelligence. He ... can investigate any [cabinet] minister. He reports to parliament through the joint standing committee on intelligence," Kasrils said.

On the Macozoma probe, Ngcakani said his terms of reference were to investigate whether such an operation had taken place and whether it was authorised and done within the rules and regulations of the NIA. "Our findings were that the operation did take place in the manner Macozoma described. It was authorised by the deputy director-general [Njenje] and not disclosed to Kasrils. We found the operation was unlawful and illegal. Its legitimacy was not supported by intelligence information they had," Ngcakani said.

Kasrils was clearly angry that he had not been informed by Masetlha of the decision to put Macozoma under surveillance. He said the first time he knew about the matter was when Macozoma complained and subsequently submitted a lawyer's letter to back up his claim.

Ngcakani, 68, is no newcomer to intelligence. Between 1996 and 2001 he was head of ministerial services in the intelligence ministry. He provided management and administrative services in support of the ministry's role of control, supervision and superintendence of the intelligence services. During that period he led several commissions and task teams, such as one to review conditions of service for the intelligence community. Before that, he played a leading role in the establishment of a national communications centre, which provides secure communication services to government as well as an interception office.

Ngcakani is a highly qualified engineer. He has a master's degree in engineering science from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, as well as a master of science degree from the University of Nairobi in Kenya. He is also a water expert, having designed industrial waste water treatment facilities, and has provided advisory services on water quality and water pollution. Ngcakani's political career started at the University of Fort Hare in the late 1950s. He joined Umkhonto weSizwe, the armed wing of the ANC, and was subsequently based in Zambia and East Africa. He is married to Pulane and has five children - three girls and two boys.

Source: IoL

FF charges unions with hate speech

The Freedom Front Plus has laid charges with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and the police against Nehawu, Cosatu and the ANC for hate speech.

The charges were laid following chants of "kill the boer, kill the farmer" by protesters at the Potchefstroom Agricultural College while pointing to white students recently, FF Plus Northwest provincial leader, Pieter Groenewald said.

"This slogan has already been declared hate speech by the HRC and these actions are therefore a transgression," he said.

Source: IoL

Fugitive billionaire Radovan Krejcir launches counterattack from the Seychelles

The case of the fugitive Czech billionaire Radovan Krejcir has taken a new twist. From his hideout in the Seychelles the man whom the police claim was the ringleader of a dangerous gang has taken a swipe at the ruling Social Democrats, claiming that he loaned the party 60 million crowns back in 2002 in return for special favours.

Conspiracy to murder, money forgery, tax evasion, extortion, abduction - those are just some of the crimes that Radovan Krejcir is wanted for in the Czech Republic. In recent days the Czech police arrested five people who are believed to be his closest accomplices in a dangerous crime-ring which Krejcir allegedly headed or still heads. The head of a special police squad for fighting corruption and economic crime Jiri Novak said the police had plenty of evidence to nail all members of the gang. "We believe that we got all the big fish here. My team has been working on this case since last November - and the information and documents we have collected look pretty convincing. They convinced us and we hope they'll convince the state attorney."

Safe from his hideout in the Seychelles with his family around him and a Seychelles passport in his pocket, Radovan Krejcir dropped his bombshell-accusing the ruling Social Democratic Party of having accepted a 60 million crown bribe from him back in 2002 - officially a loan, but one that was never meant to be repaid in return for special favours. Speaking to reporters, Krejcir said he intended to write a book that would give the Czech Republic its own Watergate scandal and he hinted that the Czech authorities knew all along that he would never be extradited from the Seychelles. "I am certain that the present political leadership and the police knew I was beyond their reach the minute they heard I was in the Seychelles. All their media statements about trying to get me extradited were just a smoke screen for the public. I consider myself innocent."

Here in Prague Krejcir's accusations elicited an angry response from finance minister Bohuslav Sobotka who said the fugitive billionaire was telling absurd lies in order to get his revenge on the ruling Social Democrats for breaking up his crime ring and continuing in their efforts to see him brought to justice here in the Czech Republic.

If Radovan Krejcir really wanted to get revenge he timed his story well. It hit the headlines less than 48 hours after a Transparency International report suggested that the Czech Republic was the third most corrupt state in the EU. It is not clear how the opposition will treat the accusations but, even if they don't add fuel to the fire, the fact that the claims have been splashed across today's front pages will not help the Social Democrat's image ahead of next years general elections.

Source: Radio Prague

Kebble expert 'removed'

An independent forensic expert who helped the police with their investigation into the Brett Kebble murder, was removed from the investigating team on Monday.

Dr David Klatzow, a well-known Cape pathologist, was one of the ''experts'' whom former judge Willem Heath appointed on behalf of Kebble's family, among other things to search the murder scene for further clues. Questions arose recently when the police visited the scene again in Melrose, Johannesburg last Wednesday - more than a week after the murder. Heath has been handling the Kebbles' legal affairs since the murder. Last week Heath's son Marius said a Bloemfontein pathologist and ''another expert whom the Kebbles had approached were there to assist the police''.

But Klatzow told reporters that Heath informed him on Monday morning that his services were no longer needed. ''I was contracted by Heath on behalf of the Kebbles and asked to investigate the murder scene. I did. Now I am no longer involved. I am curious to know why.''

Source: News 24.com

Scorpions and NIA dispute heats up

The tiff between the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Scorpions over a leaked confidential document has continued. The NIA on Monday effectively accused the elite crime-busting unit of dishonesty. Represented by advocate George Bizos, the NIA contended that its confidential document - in which the Scorpions were accused of spying for foreign intelligence agencies - was unsigned and withdrawn from the Khampepe Commission, which is investigating the future of the Scorpions.

'They had no right to respond to it'
Bizos argued that even after the NIA had made it clear to the Scorpions that the document was unsigned and withdrawn, the Scorpions continued to respond to it. "We were assured... that the document would be returned to us. We asked a number of people that it should not be circulated. (But) last Friday the unsigned document was answered to by the DSO (Directorate of Special Operations)... I told the DSO that they had no right to respond to it," said Bizos. The DSO is the official name of the Scorpions.

Bizos added that, "much to the surprise and disappointment" of the NIA, the document was leaked. We do not know who is responsible. We hope that officers of the commission will try to find who breached that confidentiality." Advocate Ishmael Semenya, the evidence leader for the commission, said the leak did not emanate from his staff.

Scorpions do not have a civilian oversight body
Commission chairperson Judge Sisi Khampepe also warned against the leaking of information and the use of a confidential document that was not presented before her. The City Press newspaper reported that the NIA, in the withdrawn document, had argued that the Scorpions were a security risk and were breaking the law by gathering intelligence against their mandate.

In her submission, Democratic Alliance justice spokesperson Sheila Camerer argued on Monday that the constitution provided for the Scorpions to gather intelligence. "Any deficiencies in exercising oversight over the intelligence function of the Scorpions can be dealt with by drafting legislation to regulate intelligence-gathering functions of the Scorpions," she said.

Camerer suggested that the same rules regulating the NIA and the Secret Service should be applied to the Scorpions. All the intelligence agencies - the police's crime intelligence, military's defence intelligence, the NIA and the Secret Service - are monitored by a civilian inspector-general, Zolile Ngcakani, while the Independent Complaint Directorate is the ordinary police units' watchdog body.

The Scorpions do not have a civilian oversight body. However, it is subject to oversight by the controversial ministerial co-ordination committee and has also appeared before parliament's watchdog committee on intelligence.

Camerer rejected claims by the SA Police Service (Saps) and safety and security minister Charles Nqakula that the constitution required a single police service. "In this context, it appears the Scorpions only share an investigative function similar to the Saps and investigating crime is only one of the myriad of functions of the Saps. Therefore, unless the Scorpions usurp all other police functions, this argument has little or no merit," she said.

The DA said any bid to pander to the Scorpions' "misguided" critics would amount to succumbing to political pressure. Semenya cautioned the DA against making any political statement that fell outside its terms of reference. Judge Khampepe ordered the DA not to present the portion of its submission that contained political connotations and also gagged the media from reporting on it.

Source: IoL

Africa: Neglect of AIDS Orphans Fuels School Drop-Out

Government neglect of millions of children affected by HIV/AIDS is fueling school drop-out across East and Southern Africa, Human Rights Watch charged in a new report released today. The region faces an unprecedented number of orphans, and governments must take urgent steps to keep these children in school and protect them from exploitation and other abuse.

The 55-page report, "Letting Them Fail: Government Neglect and the Right to Education for Children Affected by AIDS," is based on firsthand testimony from dozens of children in three countries hard-hit by HIV/AIDS: South Africa, Kenya, and Uganda. It documents how governments fail children affected by AIDS when they leave school or attempt to return. Churches and community-based organizations provide critical support to these children, but these groups frequently operate with little government support or recognition.

"AIDS-affected children are failing to go to school, and it's because their governments are failing them," said Jonathan Cohen, researcher with Human Rights Watch's HIV/AIDS Program. "These children have lost enough. They should not be turned away from school and lose their right to an education as well."

In sub-Saharan Africa, there are more than 12 million children orphaned by AIDS, not including the millions of children whose parents are terminally ill. While overall school enrollment rates have risen to approximately 66% in the continent, AIDS-affected children have been systematically left behind. Recent surveys from Kenya, South Africa, and Tanzania show that orphans are more likely to withdraw from school, less likely to be at an age-appropriate grade, and less likely to have limited family resources spent on their education.

The Human Rights Watch report documents how children suffer de facto discrimination in access to education from the moment HIV/AIDS afflicts their family. Children leave school to perform household labor or to bereave their parents' death. Many cannot afford school fees because their parents are too sick to earn a living. While some countries, such as Kenya and Uganda, have abolished primary school fees, schools repeatedly refuse admission to AIDS-affected children who cannot afford to pay for books, uniforms, and other school-related expenses.

Orphans and other AIDS-affected children said they had to leave school for reasons like failing to produce a birth certificate or failing to bring a desk to class. In many cases, they were being cared for by widows who had been stripped of their property when their husbands died of AIDS. In others, volunteers from community-based organizations resorted to pooling meager resources to provide orphans with basic necessities. Many orphans have eked out a living in the street or lived in households headed by other children.

"Governments bear the ultimate responsibility to protect children when their parents no longer can," said Cohen. "Community-based organizations and churches are desperately trying the fill the void left by governments."

Human Rights Watch called on governments in East and Southern Africa to bolster community-based organizations and foster care systems to address the crisis of AIDS-affected children. South Africa has a system of foster care, but it does not nearly meet the need in the era of HIV/AIDS. Kenya and Uganda rely almost entirely on charitable organizations to assist orphans. High rates of school drop-out are one of the most tangible results of this systematic government neglect, Human Rights Watch said.

Dropping out of school exposes orphans to a lifelong cycle of poverty and abuse. Children who drop out of school face a high risk of sexual exploitation, hazardous labor, and living in the street. Studies show that rates of HIV infection are higher among children with low levels of education.

"Some children are double victims of AIDS-first they lose their parents, and then they face a high risk of HIV infection after they drop out of school," said Cohen. "Governments must make education a priority to break this vicious cycle."

Source: Human Rights Watch