Secret state: How the government spies on you
HEIDI SWART JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Oct 14 2011 00:00
The turmoil in the leadership of the State Security Agency has again cast a baleful light on the role and reach of the secret apparatus available to the government.
The reasons alleged for the departure of National Intelligence Agency director Gibson Njenje underline persistent concerns about the abuse of covert power: Njenje refused to stop spying on some of the president's friends -- the controversial Guptas -- and refused to start spying on some of his political enemies.
The role of surveillance in our politics recently is undeniable. Jacob Zuma would probably not be president if someone in crime intelligence had not leaked recordings of former Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy to Zuma's lawyer.
This week, as part of an occasional series on the Secret State, we explain the architecture of South Africa's spy agencies and take a closer look at the use and abuse of state surveillance.
State intelligence agencies can -- and do -- access citizens' private communications illegally. The Mail & Guardian has been told by well-placed sources that it is a common occurrence, especially in police crime intelligence (see "A police case in point" below).
The M&G's informants included two former police crime intelligence agents and a former military intelligence operative.
A fourth source, who works for a state department, described how he used a contact at police crime intelligence to obtain detailed information of an individual's movements in and out of the country over seven months.
The source alleged that that it took crime intelligence less than 36 hours to source the information -- without a judge's permission.