Senior members of presidential hopeful and Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu’s political office claim that spies are following their movements and hacking their phones.
Sunday World has established that three officials in Sisulu’s office have written to the office of the inspector-general of intelligence Setlhomamaru Dintwe, saying their calls are being intercepted.
Yesterday, Sisulu’s adviser Thami ka Plaatjie told Dintwe that there was an “unlawful intelligence operation” by unknown people targeting him.
“I am acutely aware that I am being followed and my movements are tracked given the many instances when I confronted those who have followed me.
They take pictures when I am in public places and eavesdrop on my conversations,” he said in his e-mail.
“This week these activities took the nature of a phone-hacking when my WhatsApps [messages] and that of the group of people who work for minister Sisulu have been disrupted. Our conversations have been intercepted and our phone calls have been occasionally fiddled with,” he added.
Ka Plaatjie further said the activities outlined in his complaint are a gross violation of his freedom of expression and freedom of association and called on Dintwe to investigate.
In January, Mphumzi Mdekazi, another adviser of Sisulu and her chief of staff Bomaye Ntshona also laid a complaint with Dintwe, alleging unlawful interception of their communication.
Dintwe confirmed he was attending to the complaint and that an investigator had been assigned to probe the matter.
“Our investigation on the matter is continuing and we are still awaiting responses from the designated intelligence services.
“We would like to advise that investigating a complaint of this nature to a comprehensive and satisfactory conclusion takes time.
“In this regard, we appreciate your patience and co-operation to date as we are trying to finalise your complaint,” Dintwe said.
The complaints come as the minister crisscrosses the country, canvassing for support to contest President Cyril Ramaphosa when the ANC holds its elective conference in December. Those close to her believe that her staff members are being targeted as part of efforts to derail her campaign.
Last month, Sunday World reported Sisulu took her fight to the ANC integrity commission, where she attacked the party’s veterans over an article she wrote criticising the judiciary.
Her public spat with the president, during which she stopped short of saying Ramaphosa was lying when the latter said she apologised for her attack on the judiciary, explained her open warfare with the president as she gears herself to unseat Ramaphosa.
She attacked Ramaphosa’s media office as she claimed the contents of the president’s statement was unfortunate as it was not what they agreed on, prompting calls from inside and outside the ANC for her to be reined in.
But those close to Ramaphosa say his strategy has been to ensure Sisulu is not made to look like a victim, something they say she wants to use to mobilise support.
The president and his allies have resisted calls for her to be removed as minister.
It is a strategy that has also seen Ramaphosa’s allies refuse to target her for removal as the chairperson of the party’s national executive committee subcommittee on the social transformation committee.
The legal adviser in Dintwe’s office, advocate Jay Govender, said Plaatjie’s complaint was lodged yesterday.
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