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‘The easiest place to attack’: Parliament’s security under scrutiny

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Members of Parliament’s non-compliance with parliamentary security officers is one of the barriers to the work of the police at the institution.

This was heard in this morning’s joint sitting of the police and public works portfolio committees who met with the department of public works and the police.

The sitting, which was led by national commissioner general Khehla Sitole, followed the protest suicide of Lennox Garane, who shot himself in his office on September 14 just before 10am.

Recalling the events of the day, General Leon Rabie told MPs that Garane entered the building and walked past security scanners without placing his bag in the X-ray machine. Moments later, Garane’s colleague heard the gunshot from his office. The firearm was licensed to Garane.

In his suicide note, Garane lamented the toxic working conditions at Parliament.

Rabie admitted that there were a number of challenges to effective policing at Parliament. These included scanners that were not working, a lack of emergency evacuation drills, the absence of a “search park” for vehicles and the perimeter around Parliament not being secure enough.

Democratic Alliance MP Dennis Ryder referred to a City Press report on Garane’s suicide in which former deputy heard of parliamentary services Motlasi Mokgatla complained that senior managers and MPs refused to be searched by police upon entering Parliament.

Police Minister Bheki Cele said he was well aware of instances of non-compliance, saying: “I do have evidence of people saying, ‘Do you know who I am?’ Most of the officers here are constables. They are very junior here. Once an MP says that, it pushes these guys down.”

The National Freedom Party’s Ahmed Emam lamented that his home was arguably more secure than Parliament. He said that Parliament was the easiest place in the country to launch a terrorist attack.

The department of public works was also taken to task over the revelation that a number of scanners at various access points were out of working order despite the department having a contract with a company to maintain the machines.

However, MPs warned against the “heavy handed militarisation of Parliament” over one incident.

The ANC’s Leonard Ramatlakane warned not to use, “a sledge hammer to kill a fly.” He said the focus instead should be on fixing the identified challenges and getting buy in from various stakeholders such as senior management and the MPs who refused to observe security protocols.

Agreeing with Ramatlakane, the Freedom Front Plus’ Pieter Groenewald said that MPs subjected themselves to scanners and body searches at airports and therefore there was no reason for them not to comply at Parliament.

The police announced a new series of controls which would be implemented as of October 1. These would include permit holders having to declare whether or not they were in possession of a firearm.

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