Issued by: Ministry for Intelligence Services
STATEMENT BY MR JM NHLANHLA MP, DEPUTY MINISTER FOR INTELLIGENCE SERVICES: CLAIMS BY ROBERT MCBRIDE
Media reports of the past week have quoted Mr Robert McBride as claiming that he was a member/operative of the National Intelligence Agency when arrested in Mozambique. This has also triggered a number of questions in the media, and the tabling of a motion in the National Assembly for me to declare whether these claims are true or false.
For the record, Mr McBride is not a member, nor is he an agent, of the NIA. He is an employee of the Department of Foreign Affairs, where he is a Deputy Director of the South East Asian Desk.
It is as an employee of the Department of Foreign Affairs that he attended meetings of the National Intelligence Estimates Board (NIEB). The NIEB is a staff organ of the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee (NICOC). Members of NICOC are the Minister for Intelligence Services, the Coordinator for Intelligence (Chairperson) and the Directors General in the Office of the President and of Foreign Affairs, who are co-opted members. The other members are the DG's of the South African Secret Services (SASS) the NIA, and the heads of the SAPS Intelligence Division and of Defence Intelligence. The following Departments are represented on the National Intelligence Estimates Board (NIEB): the NIA, the SASS, Defence Intelligence, the SAPS Intelligence Division and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
In brief, NICOC is a coordinating body tasked with the national interpretation of intelligence and information.
It is not, and neither is the NIEB, involved in the conduct of intelligence or in intelligence operations.
In addition, it has to be stressed that the NIA has the responsibility for counter intelligence, and that its mandate is restricted to domestic matters. It has no authority or mandate to engage in operations outside the borders of South Africa. The Ministry for Intelligence Services and the NIA will seek a meeting with Mr McBride so as to clarify his reported statements in relation to the NIA.
The case against Mr McBride is sub judice. As the Ministry for Intelligence Services, we would have preferred not to comment until the matter had been resolved. However, this would have created the impression that we have something to hide or are insensitive to the public. We wish to reiterate that Government welcomes the release of Mr McBride and his commitment to cooperate with the continuing investigations.
ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY FOR INTELLIGENCE SERVICES, 17/09/1998