Members of Parliament have slammed the brakes on the State Security Agency’s (SSA’s) push to relax spying laws that would have given it more powers to spy on citizens.
In a presentation to the justice and constitutional development committee this week, SSA acting director-general James Ramabulana argued the need to bypass proposed safeguards is for national security reasons.
He demonstrated the agency’s intent to exploit any loophole that would allow it to spy on citizens without a post-operation notification. This is against the Regulation of Communication and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (Rica) Amendment Bill, which states that people who are spied on must be told within 90 days, or no more than two years in sensitive cases, after the fact.
The agency also needs a designated judge, who oversees surveillance authorisations. It also stated that one of its ambitions is to prevent journalists from publishing national security-compromising stories. But the MPs shot this down.
“They are saying they want the designated judge to have the power to indefinitely withhold notification if it would jeopardise national security.
“I’m really sceptical about the vague definitions that allow the state to use national security as a shield for political repression,” said EFF MP Rebecca Mohlala. She stated that a clear definition was imperative to “prevent misuse against activists, journalists, and opposition members. We saw that happening before, where the state used its power to suppress people who have dissenting views.”
MKP MP Sibonelo Nomvalo rebuked SSA for failing whistleblowers.
“I can safely talk about the case of Sindiso Magaqa, which is prominent in the public domain. He hired personal protectors because he detected some threats to his life. He was failed by the state. We must agree that we don’t have intelligence.”
DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach said she found the presentation to be superficial. “It does not address the issues”.
The saga began when President Cyril Ramaphosa sent the Rica bill back to parliament in November 2024. His main concern was that it could allow indefinite surveillance without any review mechanism, potentially violating constitutional rights.
The SSA argued that intelligence failures during the July 2021 unrest, which left over 300 people dead and caused R50-billion in damages, had exposed critical weaknesses.
Ramabulana’s special advisor, Alfredeen Jenneker, argued that foreign espionage and terrorism threats would expose South Africa without indefinite surveillance.
Despite these claims, MPs remain sceptical.
