Several political parties in the City of Johannesburg have laid criminal charges against former mayor Herman Mashaba and other members of the DA in connection with a device they say was used to spy on opposition parties.
Members of minority political parties, including Al Jama-ah, have opened a case of defeating the ends of justice against officials who were involved in buying certain surveillance equipment from Israel during Mashaba’s reign as mayor.
The grabber, as it is called, was allegedly used to intercept phone calls and steal information from gadgets such as laptops and Ipads.
The minority parties have also accused current mayor Mpho Phalatse of trying to conceal the rot that was brought about by the establishment of the city’s anti-corruption unit, Group Forensic Investigations Services (GFIS).
Standing outside the Hillbrow police station, the provincial secretary of Al Jama-ah, Kabelo Gwamanda, accused Mashaba of orchestrating the establishment of a spy unit within the City of Johannesburg.
“Herman is the one that misled council into approving a unit that is not reflective of the report that was put before council,” Gwamanda said.
He said the matter concerning the grabber was extremely disturbing considering that the country’s State Security Agency (SSA) had no knowledge of the machine’s activities in Johannesburg.
“We recently discovered one of the biggest kept secrets of the Democratic Alliance in its capacity as the official opposition in the Republic of South Africa. The Democratic Alliance as a political party appears to be nothing more than a facade for an organised criminal and/or terrorist organisation,” Gwamanda said.
City councillor Themba Mhlongo told The Star that ever since reports of the grabber emerged in the media, he was afraid to use his cellphone at the Metro Centre. He said the current mayor needed to reveal who the machine was used on.
“We don’t know what the purpose of the machine was, but I have been told that only a number of countries in Africa have this machine. We deserve an explanation,” Mhlongo said.
The Independent Liberation and Allied Workers Union (ILAWU) said it was shocked at reports of the grabber. The union also called for accountability.
“This is a sophisticated machine. There are many things that have been happening with the DA administration and we are worried,” said Siphamandla Masemola, ILAWU general secretary.
The Star had reported that following reports on the grabber, the head of GFIS, General Shadrack Sibiya, had since resigned from his post. In his resignation letter, Sibiya states that the council was aware of the purchase of the grabber.
He also states that some people who are know pretending not to know about the machine were part of the purchase process.
Sibiya is expected to step down at the end of the month. But he also slammed the leadership of the city for not protecting him in relation to the numerous allegations he was facing.
The Star is still awaiting comment from the multi-party coalition and Action SA.