Intrusive Measures Employed by the SA Intelligence Service are Violating the Right to Privacy

The briefing examines the conflict between national security and the right to privacy in South Africa, specifically focusing on the use of unlegislated intrusive measures by intelligence services. It criticizes the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill (GILAB) for failing to incorporate recommendations from the Ministerial Review Commission on Intelligence and for not providing sufficient safeguards against the abuse of surveillance powers.

• Intelligence services in South Africa employ intrusive measures that are not legislated and are therefore unconstitutional. These measures include physical and electronic surveillance, the interception of communication, the recruitment of informants, and the infiltration of organisations, as well as the interception of 'incidental information'.
• The General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill (GILAB), introduced in November 2011 to consolidate and amalgamate state security agency structures, does not sufficiently balance national security with the right to privacy and ignores the findings of the Ministerial Review Commission on Intelligence.
• Modern technology and data surveillance have expanded the ability of intelligence services to routinely capture and digitally store the daily activities, communications, and transactions of individuals, including law-abiding citizens, often without their knowledge.
• The violation of the right to privacy through secret spying also infringes upon other fundamental human rights, including dignity, association, political participation, and freedom of expression.

APA

Mukadam, S., & Meyer, T. (n.d.). Intrusive Measures Employed by the SA Intelligence Service are Violating the Right to Privacy. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/intrusive-measures-employed-by-the-sa-intelligence-service-are-violating-the-right-to-privacy

Chicago

Mukadam, Shireen, and Tamlynne Meyer. Intrusive Measures Employed by the SA Intelligence Service are Violating the Right to Privacy. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/intrusive-measures-employed-by-the-sa-intelligence-service-are-violating-the-right-to-privacy.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mukadam |first1=Shireen |last2=Meyer |first2=Tamlynne |title=Intrusive Measures Employed by the SA Intelligence Service are Violating the Right to Privacy |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/iss-today/intrusive-measures-employed-by-the-sa-intelligence-service-are-violating-the-right-to-privacy |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mukadamndintrusive, author = {Mukadam, Shireen and Meyer, Tamlynne}, title = {{Intrusive Measures Employed by the SA Intelligence Service are Violating the Right to Privacy}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/iss-today/intrusive-measures-employed-by-the-sa-intelligence-service-are-violating-the-right-to-privacy}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }