President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Act (“the Act”) into law on 28 March. The Campaign for Free Expression (CFE) is of the view that despite important amendments to earlier drafts of the law, it still fails to achieve its central aim: to rectify the structural shortcomings and prevent the endemic misconduct in the State Security Agency (SSA) that enabled state capture.

As enacted, it holds out a threat to the media and public’s right to freedom of expression and to corresponding rights to impart and receive information.