- The EFF has rejected the ruling by the Gauteng High Court which found Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane displayed bias in her investigation of the so-called SARS "rogue unit".
- The party says it will appeal the judgment and has written to Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence to institute its own investigation.
- SARS said judgment confirmed the revenue service's "powers to gather intelligence relating to tax offences".
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) says the Gauteng High Court ruling setting aside Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane's report into the so-called SARS rogue unit is "irrational, unconstitutional and above all, a threat to national security".
The party has rejected the ruling, saying it will appeal it to the highest court in the land.
On Monday, News24 reported that the court issued a punitive cost order against Mkhwebane, describing her conduct as "egregious".
Mkhwebane found that former SARS commissioner, now Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan, had inadvertently misled Parliament by failing to disclose a meeting he had with members of the Gupta Family, and that he had violated intelligence laws by overseeing the establishment of an "intelligence unit" at SARS in 2007, also known as the "rogue unit".
The court found that Mkhwebane relied on "discredited" reports to formulate her findings, and that she displayed a "manifest bias" towards Gordhan and former SARS executive, Ivan Pillay.
But the EFF said no one in the country, acting in the name of the democratic government, could collect covert intelligence without being held accountable through legislation, and by Parliament.
"The entire executive is accountable to Parliament. Even SARS itself is held accountable by Parliament."
It had many questions about the functioning and operation of the SARS investigation unit.
EFF Rejects The Gauteng North High Court Judgement Excusing The Establishment Of Rogue Unit Within SARS As Lawful pic.twitter.com/AbJQWvXbMI
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) December 8, 2020
EFF said it had also written to the Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence to institute its own investigation on the unit, claiming, without evidence, that it believed "covert intelligence was collected by SARS, using intrusive equipment purchased using state funds".
SARS said the High Court judgment confirmed the revenue service's "powers to gather intelligence relating to tax offences".
The SARS unit, known as the "rogue unit", was actually an investigative unit within the enforcement division of the tax service established in 2007.
Over time, it was known as the Special Projects Unit, then the National Research Group and at the time of its disbandment in 2014, the High-Risk Investigations Unit.
The unit was accused in 2014 and 2015 of conducting a series of unlawful intelligence gathering operations, such as planting listening devices in the home of former president Jacob Zuma and conducting covert operations.
The Sunday Times newspaper apologised for the reports, and the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, on 7 December 2020, ruled that no evidence was found of covert intelligence methods used by the unit in 81 investigations it conducted into illicit economies.
Members and managers of the unit have consistently maintained their innocence.
Did you know you can comment on this article? Subscribe to News24 and add your voice to the conversation.