Former State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo has rubbished claims that her department did not provide intelligence reports leading to the July unrest last year. Dlodlo gave testimony at the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) on Tuesday, which is investigating what really transpired in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
The former State Security Minister joined the other ministers who simply brushed off the failure of intelligence which led to the July unrest. The riots and looting in KwaZulu-Natal saw shops being burned and destroyed and the chaos spilling over into Gauteng leaving over 300 people dead.
Dlodlo’s appearance comes after the police claimed that no intelligence had been provided by the intelligence and the police had to rely on social media for updates on what was transpiring. She began by telling the commission that she would like to start by addressing the issue of no intelligence provided as the Police Minister Beki Cele had alleged.
Several warning alerts were issued to the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure, said Dlodlo. She said she cannot be blamed for various departments not receiving the reports. “I went personally to give the report to the president.”
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The former SSA minister said between May 2021 leading up to the unrest, the agency issued what is called red alerts, with some yellow and orange. The Minister claims that when she was still at the SSA she warned that there’s growing instability which undermined the authority of the state.
A red tape in SSA terms means threat to life and property, orange means general instability but no imminent threat, while yellow is used when an incident has taken place already with no fear of retaliation.
The minister went on to say that anyone who expected to get the report directly from her was “dreaming and dreaming on colour.”
Source: Eyewitness News, Daily Maverick, and image from Daily Maverick
