Dear Editor
I note with grave concern the Sowetan Newspaper story: “Report Links DA MP to Anti-SA Narrative”.
On the 16th of July 2025, I was asked for comment on an unspecified report by Sowetan journalist, Jeanette Chabalala, who noted that serious allegations had been made against me in regards to the DA’s visit to the United States in February 2025.
I subsequently contacted the Sowetan’s Editor, Sibongakonke Shoba, to ascertain the veracity of the report. He declined to provide me with a copy of the report but confirmed that it was produced by state security services and had served before the National Security Council (NSC) and the President. Reports serving before NSC are classified.
This comes on the back of my recent media exposé in regards to Mcebisi Jonas’s failure to obtain a diplomatic visa.
It is clear that there is an insidious political agenda at play, in which taxpayer-funded state security services are potentially being weaponised against sitting Members of Parliament in order to achieve political objectives.
The DA has been clear about who our delegation met with in the United States and the nature of our trip. Both the DA’s media statement following the trip and subsequent public interviews provide detailed information in this regard.
Both the potential surveillance of a sitting Member of Parliament by state security services as well as the targeted leaking of a classified report in a clear attempt to tarnish and intimidate such a Member in performing her duties are serious criminal offences under South African law.
This follows on the back of General Makwanazi’s revelations of organised crime having infiltrated the Police and State Security at the highest levels.
On the evening of 16 July, the DA’s lawyers wrote to both the President and the Minister of State Security requesting an urgent investigation into both the commissioning and leaking of such an alleged report. This correspondence will be provided to the media on request.
There is no place in a constitutional democracy for Members of Parliament to be actively surveilled by the State in performing their functions, and representing their political parties on the international stage.
As the ANC continues to engage with its friends in the axis of malign actors, the likes of Russia and Iran, the DA will continue to openly and constructively engage with the international community of democracies.
Regards
Emma Louise Powell MP
DA Spokesperson on International Relations & Cooperation