The DA will ask the judiciary to review former spy boss Arthur Fraser's appointment as commissioner of correctional services.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this week about the removal of Fraser as director general of State Security Agency (SSA) only for him to be appointed as commissioner of correctional services on Tuesday, amid allegations that he tried to scupper an investigation into him.
"I requested information from President Ramaphosa about the procedure followed in appointing Fraser as the national commissioner, when the decision was made, whether Fraser's alleged unlawful conduct at the SSA was factored into his new appointment and why Fraser was appointed to a portfolio that he has no experience in," Maimane said on Friday.
Maimane set the president a deadline of 16:00 on Thursday but did not get a response. Ramaphosa was in Britain this week for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting but cut his trip short and returned to South Africa on Thursday evening to deal with the protests in Mahikeng.
"In light of the president's failure to reply, the DA will challenge the lawfulness of Fraser's appointment – particularly whether it was procedurally and substantively rational in light of Fraser's track record," said Maimane.
"Fraser's co-ordination of a parallel intelligence network should have been reason to fire him, and not rehire him in a different capacity.
"Cyril Ramaphosa's 'New Dawn' can't merely offer an easy way out for compromised individuals like Arthur Fraser. We cannot allow the ANC's long-standing practice of reshuffling compromised individuals within government departments to continue. They must be fired, not rehired in different capacities."
Inspector General of Intelligence (IGI) Setlhomamaru Dintwe has been investigating Fraser following a formal complaint lodged by the DA over Fraser's alleged involvement in a parallel intelligence network.
Dintwe launched an urgent court application last week, claiming that Fraser had allegedly sought to revoke his security clearance and had interfered with his functions while he was investigating a complaint lodged against the former SSA director general.
In his responding affidavit, Fraser said: "The purported investigation is malicious and at the whims of political parties, aimed at discrediting me, the agency and the current political leadership."
Dintwe's court application was not heard on Thursday and Dintwe's security clearance has been restored.