CHIEF JUSTICE’S OFFICE BURGLARY
STEVEN FRIEDMAN: Beware of the security agency predators
‘Security operatives are fighting factional battles within the governing party and seem to operate most of the time as the armed wing of the ANC’s patronage faction’
Whoever broke into the chief justice’s office sent South Africans an important message: the need to pay far more attention to protecting ourselves from our "protectors". We don’t know who the burglars were. But why would "ordinary" criminals target judges’ personnel records? It is much more probable that someone was digging for "dirt" they hope to use to make life difficult for the courts. Given our recent history, it is not surprising that fingers are pointed in the direction of the security services. One of the threats to democracy here is the security services’ role in fighting political battles. This is a different problem from that under apartheid, when the security establishment was united in its quest to defend the system. Now, security operatives are fighting factional battles within the governing party and the government; specifically, they seem to operate most of the time as the armed wing of the ANC’s patronage faction. Their prime target is often others in the governing ...
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