{"id":414090,"date":"2021-09-14T18:27:22","date_gmt":"2021-09-14T16:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=414090"},"modified":"2021-09-14T18:31:08","modified_gmt":"2021-09-14T16:31:08","slug":"rica-is-a-joke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/security\/414090-rica-is-a-joke.html","title":{"rendered":"RICA is a joke"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Designated Judge for the Interception of Communications, Justice Bess Nkabinde, has revealed that there is no way for her office to verify whether the applications they receive from law enforcement are truthful or not.<\/p>\n

Nkabinde is the judge responsible for evaluating and granting interception directions \u2014 a form of warrant allowing South African law enforcement to intercept someone\u2019s communications legally.<\/p>\n

Her office was created by the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA).<\/p>\n

Most South Africans know RICA as the law that requires you to give proof of identity and address to a cellular service provider to activate a SIM card on their network.<\/p>\n

According to Nkabinde, there are now several cases in the public record where law enforcement officers lied to get interception orders against targets such as journalists and prominent businesspeople.<\/p>\n

\u201cUndisputed evidence was before Court that in certain instances the agencies can obtain fictional intelligence report about an individual,\u201d stated Nkabinde.<\/p>\n

In one instance involving a journalist investigating corruption in the SAPS, a police official said that the phone numbers to be tapped were those of suspected ATM bombers.<\/p>\n

Another instance involving a prominent businessman saw National Intelligence Agency (NIA) operatives claim that they had obtained emails revealing that their target was in bed with foreign intelligence services that threatened national security.<\/p>\n

It was later revealed that the NIA operatives forged the emails they used to justify the application for an interception direction against their target.<\/p>\n

Nkabinde said that it is of great concern that South Africa\u2019s lawful interception regime continues to be abused by unscrupulous actors in law enforcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese matters are, in the light of the constitutional imperatives and the rule of law, most disturbing and cannot be left unchecked by the relevant Ministry\/Department of [the] agency implicated,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLying under oath is a criminal offence. Appropriate steps need to be taken against officers with such proclivity whose conduct result in violation of the privacy right of others without reasonable justification, whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nkabinde provided statistics of how many applications were received from various agencies. These are summarised in the table below.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
RICA interception direction applications \u2014 1 November 2018 to 28 February 2021<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Type<\/th>\nSAPS Applications<\/th>\nSSA Applications<\/th>\nFIC\/FICA Applications<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
New<\/td>\n350<\/td>\n8<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Re-Application<\/td>\n88<\/td>\n24<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Extension<\/td>\n30<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Amendment<\/td>\n26<\/td>\n8<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Extension and Amendment<\/td>\n119<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oral<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Section 11<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Declined<\/td>\n7<\/td>\n7<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Total<\/td>\n622<\/td>\n61<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Nkabinde said that an analysis of the statistics for the reporting period had revealed the following:<\/p>\n