ActionSA said it will urgently challenge National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza and Parliament’s “unilateral decision” to restrict access to classified information relating to the investigation into allegations of corruption in the South African Police Service (Saps), for certain members of the committee.

In June, KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi accused Police Minister Senzo Mchunu of unilaterally disbanding the Political Killings Task Team and redirecting 121 active investigation dockets to the Office of National Deputy Commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya, where they have allegedly been neutralised.

Earlier this month, the committee held its first meeting, and this week the committee reconvened and agreed on its final version of its terms of reference (ToR), which was sent to members.

ActionSA expressed concerns with some of the ToR.

Party MP Dereleen James said ActionSA takes “strong exception” to Parliament’s and Didiza’s alleged actions in developing and effecting a protocol that would exclude ActionSA’s active participation by denying alternative members access to any classified material that may emerge during the committee’s investigation.

“…this clause in the protocol is not only legally baseless, referencing no legislative provision requiring such restrictions, but is wholly obstructive to the democratic integrity and intended work of the committee,” she stated.

She added that it was concerning that the ‘Protocol on Handling and Viewing of Classified Information by the National Assembly’ was only signed on Wednesday.

“Clearly, this is neither an established precedent nor a longstanding framework, but rather a newly manufactured instrument designed by Parliament and developed without any consultation with the committee for which it was ostensibly intended,” she said.

James pointed out that alternate members exist to ensure continuity when full members are unavailable when decisions need to be made.

“To unilaterally restrict ActionSA from accessing relevant information undermines our ability to participate meaningfully, leaving us in the rather absurd position of having to inevitably vote on matters without being fully apprised of the information necessary to do so,” she argued.

ActionSA will formally raise the matter with Didiza, and ask her to remove the provision before the committee begins its work.

She claimed that this was a procedural irregularity, and a deliberate attempt to obstruct ActionSA’s work in the committee.

“The Speaker’s action, if left unchallenged, could have far-reaching consequences for all parliamentary committees and the alternate members who serve on them, creating a system where different classes of members are treated unequally,” she noted.