Madam Deputy Speaker, we in Cope call on the Ministers in the security cluster once and for all to stop the abuses of power by the VIP unit. We condemn the latest human rights violations and attempts to suppress media freedom in this country in the strongest possible terms.
A mere three weeks after a UCT student was bullied and detained by the President's VIP officers, a young reporter from Radio 702, Tshepo Lesole, was manhandled and his photos erased by the same VIP unit. A Mail & Guardian reporter was earlier detained for taking pictures of the President's house and then the ANC Youth League spokesperson, Floyd Shivambu, threatened to disclose information that could only have been illegally obtained from state sources.
Madam Deputy Speaker, the question is: What happened to our free, democratic society, with media freedom expressly protected by the Constitution? Cope wants to call on those Ministers in the Cabinet who made so many sacrifices during the protracted struggle for the liberation of our country and our people to speak up against these abuses of power. Cope will submit questions on the conduct of the VIP unit to Parliament. [Time expired.] [Applause.]