Cape Town - Police Minister Bheki Cele has conceded in a fiery exchange that SAPS Commissioner Fannie Masemola’s lack of security clearance was undermining the security of the country.
MPs from the Portfolio Committee on Police took up the issue when Cele and police top brass made a presentation on the SAPS budget and annual performance plan for 2023-24.
This is amid a planned move by the committee to seek legal advice on the incumbent's occupation of the top post without being in possession of a security clearance.
On Monday, the Cape Times reported that Cele distanced the SAPS from the appointment of Masemola and passed the buck to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Responding to a parliamentary question, he said Masemola previously applied for a security clearance at the level of top secret, which was approved effective from December 23, 2013, and expired on December 12, 2018.
He said Masemola had submitted an e-vetting application in December 2018 to his former supervisor, General Khehla Sitole, but this was never forwarded to the vetting officer.
According to Cele, Masemola has re-submitted a security clearance application to the State Security Agency (SSA) and that he as the minister wrote to the then Minister in the Presidency last April requesting that his vetting commence.
Committee chairperson Tina Joemat-Pettersson said it was unacceptable that only SSA was responsible for vetting.
“Are you saying as a deputy commissioner, he did not have a security clearance?
How many deputy commissioners and provincial commissioners have and don't have it?”
In his response, Cele said security clearance was done by SSA, not by Crime Intelligence.
He told the MPs he had reminded the Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni about Masemola’s outstanding vetting in a meeting of the justice, crime prevention and security cluster on Monday.
“I reminded the minister,(and asked if they could) do this one quickly.”
However, Cele explained that when directors-general were preliminarily appointed by the cabinet, they had to get security clearance within a set period.
But Joemat-Pettersson suggested that SAPS was breaking the law by having a commissioner without security clearance.
“The national commissioner has no security clearance to read top security documents. It means you are breaking the law,” she said.
“It is a matter of intelligence and security of the country. You are undermining the security of the country. If I am wrong, tell me I am wrong,” Joemat-Pettersson said.
In response, Cele confirmed that the chairperson was correct in her assumption, but said the law provided for the SSA to vet the national commissioner.
He said with its capacity, Crime Intelligence would have conducted the vetting on Masemola.
“I have appealed to the sister organisation and the sister minister. Really, beyond that I can’t do anything except reminding them,” Cele said.
This prompted Joemat-Pettersson to say: “What you confirm is that we have a national commissioner who is acting outside the scope and the framework of the law. It is simply like that.”
She said Masemola did not have a security clearance when he was deputy commissioner in 2018.
“Could this be investigated and can we get a legal opinion? This is a very serious matter. We will do a legal assessment before we take it to Parliament.”
Freedom Front Plus leader Piet Groenewald said it was unfair towards Masemola to operate without a valid top secret security clearance.
Groenewald then asked if Cele had asked Ramaphosa to intervene in the matter.
Cele said other than the president, there was a Minister responsible for intelligence.
Groenwald was unconvinced by his response.
“I think it is not good enough to just go to his counterpart. It is more than a year now,” he said.
“It is unfair towards the commissioner of police to expect to function 100 percent fully if there is a sword over his head,” Groenewald said.
Cape Times