Minister in the presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, has moved to clarify the difference between crime intelligence, state security, and the office of the Inspector-General of intelligence following the suspension of Imtiaz Fazel.
On Wednesday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa suspended Fazel, inspector general of intelligence, after saying he had received complaints about his conduct.
According to Ntshavheni, one should also not be confused about the roles played by crime intelligence, state security, and the office of Inspector-General of Intelligence.
“There seems to be some confusion between crime intelligence, state security, and the Inspector-General of Intelligence. The president does not suspend the head of crime intelligence – that’s important to clarify.
“However, the presidency has announced that the inspector-general of intelligence has been suspended following an investigation initiated by the joint standing committee on intelligence,” Ntshwavheni explained.
The Inspector General is an oversight body, and it’s not one person. It’s a full office.
— Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, minister in the presidency
She said the office of the inspector-general of intelligence is an oversight body and does not hinge on one person. As a result, it is still operational despite Fazel’s suspension.
“[The president has made it very clear] on the inspector general, I cannot say more than that. The inspector general is an oversight body, and it’s not one person. It’s a full office.
“The intelligence structures are different from the inspector general. The intelligence structures are fully operational, whether it’s crime intelligence, whether it’s state security, whether it’s defense intelligence. They are still operational and coordinating,” she said.
Meanwhile, Ntshwavheni also touched on violence happening at the University of the Free State (UFS), where academic activities have been suspended and the institution shut down following violent student protests over financial support policies and registration changes.
She said the institution needs to manage and resolve the issue.
“Universities and their students are in conflict; they have their own disagreements, which have led to the current situation. I hope you understand that institutions of higher learning are independent. What we do is provide a briefing to the relevant minister, which is the minister of higher education. They have been making the necessary interventions. The minister of higher education has articulated the interventions that they are making,” she said.
Police were deployed to the UFS’s Qwaqwa campus to disperse protesting students, following incidents of property damage and clashes that led to multiple arrests.
Ntshavheni said the police only enter when given permission by the institution
“I hope you know that even police entering a university campus need permission from the university. There was a briefing by the minister of education. We cannot do more than that. The universities must resolve their own issues. They must invite law enforcement agencies, which the law enforcement agencies have accepted. However, campuses are free spaces; that’s why, even in the 80s and early 90s, before freedom, when there was unrest on campuses, police could not enter a campus without the permission of the university vice-chancellor. Therefore, the universities must call for the police to come in; they cannot just enter freely. They are independent institutions. Our laws dictate this, and we need to keep that in mind,” she said.
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