This morning, the Democratic Alliance's (DA) Safety and Security Spokesperson Dianne Kohler Barnard MP laid criminal charges against Jacob Zuma's lawyer, Michael Hulley, on the grounds that he is allegedly in possession of illegal, stolen recordings of intercepted telephone conversations.
The DA has also laid a charge against the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) deputy director general for operations Arthur Fraser, after a national newspaper quoted three independent sources citing Mr Fraser as the person who passed tapes on to Mr Zuma's legal team. In light of this, we will charge him with illegally distributing intercepted communications.
First, we have laid a charge of possession of stolen property, against Mr Hulley, relating to his allegedly illegal possession of tape recordings that may be the property of the state.
Neither Mr Hulley nor his client is a state official, and Mr Hulley appears to be in the possession of these tapes specifically for the purpose of assisting his private legal client, Mr Zuma. As such, Mr Hulley appears to be in possession of stolen property.
Second, we have laid charges in terms of the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act 70 of 2002 (‘the Act').
In terms of sections 2 and 49(1) of the Act, no person may intercept, or authorise or procure any other person to intercept any communication in the course of its occurrence or transmission, except in certain limited circumstances.
We believe that an investigation must take place into the circumstances surrounding this intercepted communication.
Further, in terms of section 42(1) of the Act, no person may disclose any legally intercepted communications, except in certain very limited circumstances. We believe that a criminal investigation must be carried out to ascertain whether intercepted communications have been passed on to Mr Hulley or any other person in violation of this statutory provision.
In light of this, we have laid charges against Mr Fraser, who now appears to have been identified as the individual responsible for passing on the tapes.
Statement issued by Dianne Kohler Barnard MP, Democratic Alliance spokesperson on safety and security, April 9 2009
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
