The National Assembly’s portfolio committee has distanced itself from purported arrests of senior crime intelligence officers this week. Picture: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
THE National Assembly’s portfolio committee on police has distanced itself from claims that it is behind alleged arrests of senior crime intelligence officers and dismissed the allegations as disinformation.
A message doing the rounds on social media platforms claims the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigative Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) issued arrest warrants against five senior police crime intelligence officers.
However, Ian Cameron, the chairperson of the portfolio committee, said he spoke to one of the members of the SA Police Service (SAPS), who was with a general mentioned in the message, and was told there was no raid or arrest as claimed.
”There is a very strong attempt at the moment to create extreme doubt and destabilisation in the SAPS and I know that there are a lot of very serious problems, especially with regards to crime intelligence,” he said.
Cameron continued: “But I believe too that the people who are writing these things are people who are trying stop their departmental hearings from going ahead and their disciplinary processes and some, unfortunately, even criminal charges from being investigated.”
He added that the message was absolute disinformation.
According to Cameron, the claims about one of the generals mentioned in the message were laughable.
”There is no sense in it,” he explained.
The message had claimed that the portfolio committee was the complainant in the matter, but Cameron stated that they had no such powers and mandate.
Last month, the portfolio committee identified crime intelligence as a critical pillar of proactive policing, and welcomed steps undertaken by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu to review the division.
The committee promised that the recent revelation of the purchase of a R23 million hotel in Pretoria will be interrogated by the joint standing committee on intelligence as the procurement from the crime intelligence covert funding is outside the portfolio committee’s oversight ambit.
It expressed concern about constant faction fights seemingly on the increase within crime intelligence.
”While they fight, South Africans are left vulnerable, and we will be engaging in robust sessions to scrutinise the chaos in crime intelligence,” Cameron said at the time.
The committee demanded that each individual’s fitness to hold office must be urgently audited with the relevant skills audit.
IDAC did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday.
loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za
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