Cape Town - Three of the ten candidates shortlisted for the vacant position of the Inspector General of Intelligence were grilled by Parliament's joint standing committee on Intelligence (JSCI) on Tuesday.
The post has been vacant since April last year when Faith Radebe's term of office ended.
JSCI has shortlisted 10 candidates for the contentious position.
The committee will be looking for a candidate all parties can agree on, as the candidate needs the support of a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly.
The position is provided for in the Constitution and in terms of the Intelligence Services Oversight Act. The inspector-general must be independent and reports to the joint standing committee and to the president.
The office has powers to investigate, arrest, prosecute and make orders and give directions during investigations.
Mampogoane Nchabeleng, Bruce Watson and Javashree Govender were the first to be interviewed. The remaining seven would be grilled on Wednesday.
Govender who holds a Masters Degree in Law from the University of Pretoria is among the favourites for the post. She she is the legal advisor in the office.
Advocate Jay Govender is a favourite for the position. Picture: Bheki Radebe/Cape Times
She was the senior prosecutor at the National Prosecuting Authority for four years between 1999 and 2003. Govender has been rendering legal advise to the office, conducting intelligence oversight of the police and interpreting legislative instruments.
Another contender, Nchabeleng, has two masters in Business Administration and in law.
Mpho Nchabeleng at Parliament on Tuesday. Picture: Bheki Radebe/Cape Times
He also worked at the office of the inspector general of intelligence’s constitutional structure dealing with oversight of the intelligence services, SA Police intelligence division and SA National Defence Force division. Nchabeleng is the former ANC legal advisor at Luthuli House.
Watson, an Information Science and Knowledge Dynamics professor at Stellenbosch University, was among the three interviewed. He holds a PhD in computing science and computer engineering from Eindhoven University in Netherlands and a PhD in computer science from the University of Pretoria. He also has expertise in cyber seurity, intelligence analysis and cyberwarfare, systems thinking and evaluation, big data and data science.
Professor Bruce Watson of the University of Stellenbosch. Picture: Bheki Radebe/Cape Times
He is the director of the centre for Artificial intelligence research focussing on knowledge acquisition and representation of intelligence system. Watson is also the director of the Centre for Knowledge, Dynamics and Decision Making.
The interviews will continue on Wednesday.
A look at the candidates:
1. Clinton Paul Davids
2. Prof Sethlomamaru Isaac Dintwe
Current position: HoD of Unisa Police Practice Department
3. Adv Jayashree Govender
Current position: Legal Advisor in the Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence
4. Mr Smanga Phillip Jele
Current position: Oversight Principal Officer in the Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence
Read the candidate’s full CV here
5. Mr Andile Barnabas Kilifele
Until recently served as Divisional Head for Policy, Standards and Complaiance at the NIA
6. Mr Mampogoane Petrus Nchabeleng
Current position: Employed in the Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence
7. Mr Victor Euclid Ngidi
8. Mr Brightboy Nhlakanipho Nkontwana
Current position: HoD at Gauteng Co-operative Governance Department
9. Dr Nyelisani Clarence Tshitereke
Until recently served as Director: Office of the Vice-Chancellor and Principal at the University of Venda
10. Prof Bruce William Watson
Current postition: Professor of Information Science at Stellenbosch University
Read the candidate’s full CV here
Cape Times