The contradictions in the South African government continue in the wake of the deadly unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. On Tuesday, 20 July, Police Minister Bheki Cele denied that the State Security Agency provided police with intelligence before the violence started as last week.
Adressing the parliament’s joint standing committee on police on Tuesday Cele said that he had never seen any intelligence documents that warned of the protests, looting and violence that would occur.
Last week, State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo said that her department provided the police with ‘adequate’ intelligence before the violence broke out. “That information that we received, that information that we analysed and packaged, was handed over to the police,” said Dlodlo.
Cele, however, denied receiving any such information – which he referred to as “the product” – and told the committee that if such information was shared with the police it would have been sent directly to him, first.
