The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the Inspector General of Intelligence, Zola Ngcakani, requesting an urgent investigation into allegations that phone conversations involving a sitting President of the Republic were illegally recorded.

The information presently available suggests that recordings were made of President Mbeki in conversation with, amongst others, the former head of the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO), Leonard McCarthy. The reports also allege that state intelligence agencies were responsible for these recordings.

If this is the case, then the intelligence community appears to be responsible for illegally tapping the phone conversations of a sitting President - a quite outrageous state of affairs that warrants an urgent investigation.

It is essential that this investigation uncovers not only the source of these phone recordings, but also how they have now allegedly ended up in the hands of Mr Jacob Zuma's lawyer.

Statement issued by Ian Davidson MP, Democratic Alliance chief whip, March 27 2009

Additional note: The Intelligence Services Act, 2002 states "26. (1 ) A person commits an offence if he or she- ... (iii) discloses classified information or material entrusted to him or her by the Director-General, the Chief Executive Officer or a member without the permission of the Director-General or the Chief Executive Officer, as the case may be; (2) Any person convicted of an offence in terms of this Act is liable, in the case of a Contravention referred to in-... (b) subsection (l)(a)(iii), to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years."

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