6 November 1997

Dear Dr Ginwala

URGENT REPRESENTATION REGARDING THE SPECIAL INVESTIGATION AGAINST MS PATRICIA DE LILLE

The FXI notes with concern the developments surrounding Ms Patricia De Lille’s statements in Parliament on October 22 during which she named several top ANC members as allegedly having been spies for the apartheid security forces. The FXI is particularly concerned at the way the matter is being dealt with by the Special Parliamentary Committee set up to deal with the issue.

The FXI regards parliamentary privilege as a crucial aspect of democracy as it allows elected representatives to freely raise and expose matters which they cannot necessarily prove in a court of law. As such, it allows for the genesis of the interrogation of issues which could later prove crucial in exposing irregularities in government or the disclosure of information which could relate directly to the competency or right of an elected official to remain in office. In either respect, parliamentary privilege is a vital component of an elected representative’s duty to serve the electorate which put him/her in office.

The FXI does not believe that parliamentary privilege negates the obligation on those who enjoy it to act in good faith and without malice. We also do not believe that those who make statements while enjoying parliamentary privilege are above scrutiny or that the allegations they make should not warrant further investigation. In fact, we believe that further investigation of statements made in parliament are vital. However, the FXI strongly protests the manner in which the Special Parliamentary Committee dealing with the issue of Ms De Lille is handling the matter.

We feel strongly that the manner in which they are approaching the issue is not only irregular, but a serious intrusion on the right to parliamentary privilege. We feel strongly that Ms De Lille cannot and shouldn’t be hauled before a special committee merely for using her parliamentary privilege. Rather, we feel that the statements she made should be the subject of an investigation and on the basis of such an investigation, which should involve a judgement on whether the statements were true or false, action should be taken against Ms De Lille. Clearly the committee is not conducting an investigation into the allegations and seem intent on passing a judgement that relates directly to her use of parliamentary privilege.

In April this year, another special parliamentary committee set an important precedent when it ordered Deputy Minister Essop Pahad and National Party MP Willem Oddendaal to unconditionally withdraw allegations they made against fellow MP’s in September 1996. The precedent being that the honourable members were not punished for using their parliamentary privilege, but rather that the allegations they made were the subject of an investigation and on the basis of this investigation, which found the allegations to be false, they were rightfully ordered to withdraw what they had said.

As the matter stands against Ms De Lille, we feel the committee is seriously violating her right to parliamentary privilege. We further regard it as a serious violation of the right of Members of Parliament to freedom of expression as it could have a chilling effect on free speech in Parliament. The setting up of a special committee with the intention of taking action against an MP because of statements made in parliament, and in the absence of any investigation into the validity of the statements, could have the effect of discouraging other MPs from exposing or raising allegations in Parliament out of fear of being hauled before a special committee.

The FXI further protests the make-up of the special committee, which is weighted in favour of the African National Congress (ANC). We regard it as highly irregular to allow the ANC, which is the aggrieved party in this instance,  to be allowed to dominate a committee that is expected to arrive at an objective assessment of the matter at hand. We feel this smacks of a kangaroo court which is both unacceptable and out of place in Parliament.

The FXI strongly calls on your office:
1. To entrench and affirm the right to parliamentary privilege and immediately dissolve the special committee set up to investigate the actions of Ms De Lille;
2. To instead, set up a committee to investigate the allegations raised by Ms De Lille and on the basis of this investigation decide on any action that should be taken against the honourable member.
3. To ensure that Ms De Lille is not punished for using parliamentary privilege as this would be a serious set-back to free speech in Parliament.
 

Yours faithfully
 

Mandla Seleoane
Chairperson: FXI