Browse report sources have 'done damage'
26 February 2008, 12:04
The Scorpions produced the Browse Mole report illegally and in contravention of their mandate, Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence said on Tuesday.
The Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), or Scorpions, fell prey to information peddlers, making use of informants and private intelligence companies to compile the document, according to findings the committee released to journalists.
"The DSO doesn't have the mandate to collect political intelligence. They don't even have the capacity. They fell prey to information peddlers," committee chairman Siyabonga Cwele told a press briefing.
Officially called the Special 'Browse' Mole Consolidated Report, the top secret document was leaked into the public domain in 2007. It claimed that a conspiracy, both inside South Africa and on the continent, was fuelling ANC president Jacob Zuma's presidential ambitions.
The committee completed its report on the matter in November last year.
"The document is extremely inflammatory, containing political intelligence and numerous allegations and unsubstantiated statements about prominent political figures in South Africa and the African continent," the committee found.
Cwele said the motive behind the report was not ideological, but part of efforts to get access to state money.
He said the committee had no authority to suggest what steps should be taken against Scorpions head Leonard McCarthy in light of the "severe findings". He said this was up to the executive.
"We have no view on the matter," he said.
The Scorpions also took no corrective measures after the report was produced.
"They did not take any action against the senior special investigator from whom the leak originated. They also neglected to take action against the illegal activities of those who were involved in the production of the Browse Mole report."
Cwele said there was no link between efforts to disband the Scorpions and the timing of the release of the committee's findings.
"I can't see a link. We are talking about things which didn't go right in one of our agencies. There are good individuals... and others doing things which are against the law."
The committee also dismissed claims by the Scorpions that they had decided the "Browse" report had no formal status and that investigators should dismiss it as the "work of sinister forces".
"The DSO had not shelved the Browse Mole Report as stated, but had in fact acted on it in order to pursue or consider prosecution... [The] DSO actually believed the intelligence which they received..."
Cwele did not know how the document got its name, but suggested it was perhaps a code name used to identify it.
"Even the DSO couldn't give us a clear answer. There was initial scanning [of information] but we don't know what type of mole or why it was browsing."
National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete said there was every reason to be concerned, especially about the "information peddlers".
"They already have done serious damage in one SADC country at top level."
She would not say which country. - Sapa
The Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), or Scorpions, fell prey to information peddlers, making use of informants and private intelligence companies to compile the document, according to findings the committee released to journalists.
"The DSO doesn't have the mandate to collect political intelligence. They don't even have the capacity. They fell prey to information peddlers," committee chairman Siyabonga Cwele told a press briefing.
Officially called the Special 'Browse' Mole Consolidated Report, the top secret document was leaked into the public domain in 2007. It claimed that a conspiracy, both inside South Africa and on the continent, was fuelling ANC president Jacob Zuma's presidential ambitions.
The committee completed its report on the matter in November last year.
"The document is extremely inflammatory, containing political intelligence and numerous allegations and unsubstantiated statements about prominent political figures in South Africa and the African continent," the committee found.
Cwele said the motive behind the report was not ideological, but part of efforts to get access to state money.
He said the committee had no authority to suggest what steps should be taken against Scorpions head Leonard McCarthy in light of the "severe findings". He said this was up to the executive.
"We have no view on the matter," he said.
The Scorpions also took no corrective measures after the report was produced.
"They did not take any action against the senior special investigator from whom the leak originated. They also neglected to take action against the illegal activities of those who were involved in the production of the Browse Mole report."
Cwele said there was no link between efforts to disband the Scorpions and the timing of the release of the committee's findings.
"I can't see a link. We are talking about things which didn't go right in one of our agencies. There are good individuals... and others doing things which are against the law."
The committee also dismissed claims by the Scorpions that they had decided the "Browse" report had no formal status and that investigators should dismiss it as the "work of sinister forces".
"The DSO had not shelved the Browse Mole Report as stated, but had in fact acted on it in order to pursue or consider prosecution... [The] DSO actually believed the intelligence which they received..."
Cwele did not know how the document got its name, but suggested it was perhaps a code name used to identify it.
"Even the DSO couldn't give us a clear answer. There was initial scanning [of information] but we don't know what type of mole or why it was browsing."
National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete said there was every reason to be concerned, especially about the "information peddlers".
"They already have done serious damage in one SADC country at top level."
She would not say which country. - Sapa
Pretoria
