ActionSA MP Dereleen James has called on SAPS to urgently secure and review CCTV footage from Parliament, saying it will disprove claims by IDAC State Advocate Drushantha Ramsamy that she received classified documents passed under the door of her parliamentary office.
Ramsamy made the claim during her testimony before the commission on Wednesday, while detailing IDAC’s handling of investigations into alleged corruption within Crime Intelligence.
She alleged that IDAC investigators approached James and provided her with top-secret Crime Intelligence documents.
James has disputed the claim, saying access to her parliamentary office floor was controlled and that her office entrance was monitored by security cameras.
“The disgraced IDAC investigators were telling a blatant lie when they claimed that I received documents under the door of my parliamentary office,” she said.
James has requested that SAPS, which is responsible for security in Parliament, urgently secure and review the footage monitoring the entrance to her office.
She said the footage would confirm that no one else had access to her office and would refute the claims made during the commission proceedings.
James said the matter stemmed from her involvement in raising concerns about the purchase of a hotel by Crime Intelligence.
She said on January 13, 2025, after her staff brought a News24 article to her attention regarding the hotel purchase, she issued a statement calling on the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) to investigate the matter.
James said her call was based only on information already reported in the media and that she believed IPID, as the lawful body responsible for investigating police misconduct, was the appropriate institution to determine whether any wrongdoing had occurred.
She said that in the days that followed, she received a call from a man who identified himself as an investigator from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), who requested a meeting and suggested that she allow IDAC to deal with the matter instead of pursuing an IPID investigation.
James said the approach raised concerns for her and appeared to be an attempt to discourage or redirect her parliamentary oversight efforts away from IPID.
She said she informed her staff that she was uncomfortable with both the approach and suggestions made by the IDAC investigator, and decided not to pursue any further engagements with NPA or IDAC.
“I was simply not prepared to become involved in something that did not sit right with me, particularly as it appeared that my legitimate concerns about the hotel purchase were being dragged into a separate scheme of which I had no knowledge. That was a red line for me and I refused to be part of it,” James said.
James said she was grateful that she trusted her instincts and stayed away from what she described as a suspicious situation.
She added that developments at the Madlanga Commission had exposed attempts by individuals to undermine efforts to combat organised crime.
“The criminals and cabals being exposed at the Madlanga Commission were shameless in their efforts to destabilise the fight against organised crime syndicates,” James said.
She remained proud of her role on the parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee and the work aimed at addressing abuse within institutions such as IDAC and SAPS.
“As I fought to the best of my ability on the Ad Hoc Committee, I am proud of the work of cleaning up institutions such as IDAC and SAPS by removing those who abuse the criminal justice system to protect criminal interests instead of fighting them,” she said.
hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za
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