President Cyril Ramaphosa says he was asked by his new minister of state security to remove Arthur Fraser as head of South Africa's top spy agency because Fraser had a "strong personality" and having him around would make it difficult to investigate the agency's affairs.
This is contained in court papers filed by the state's legal advisers on behalf of the president in the High Court in Pretoria.
Ramaphosa is opposing an application by the DA that Fraser be removed from the position of director-general of the Department of Correctional Services, to which the president deployed him after removing him from the State Security Agency.
Ramaphosa said he had decided to expedite Fraser's removal from the spy agency after Fraser had revoked the inspector-general of intelligence's security clearance, a move Ramaphosa said he feared would create a constitutional crisis.
The papers reveal that it was State Security Minister Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba who suggested that Fraser be deployed elsewhere. Her reasons were that his removal would allow the independent panel - established by the president to identify problem areas in the spy agency - to do its work unhindered.
"The minister informed the president that she was of the view that Mr Fraser would have to be transferred out of the SSA before the panel could begin its work. Her view was that Mr Fraser's strong personality would not be conducive to the investigation of the panel. The president accepted the minister's view that Mr Fraser would have to be transferred out of the SSA," Ramaphosa said in the papers.
The DA is challenging Fraser's redeployment as head of prisons as being invalid and inconsistent with the constitution.The DA's court challenge was instituted two days before a showdown between Fraser and inspector-general of intelligence Setlhomamaru Dintwe, who wanted the high court to interdict Fraser's decision to revoke his security clearance.
In his responding affidavit opposing the DA's application, Ramaphosa said he was concerned that the fight between Fraser and the inspector-general would lead to a constitutional crisis, hence the need to act once Fraser had revoked Dintwe's security clearance.
"Aware that the inspector-general was unable to perform his oversight functions in terms of the constitution without his security clearance, the president was concerned that this gave rise to a constitutional crisis.
"There is no provision in law for the appointment of an acting inspector-general. The president was of the view that the dispute between Mr Fraser and the inspector-general threatened the stability of two strategic organs of state in the security cluster."
Ramaphosa said he was aware that the probe by Dintwe revisited old allegations that were investigated and finalised before Fraser was appointed in 2016. However, he decided to remove Fraser to allow Dintwe to complete the latest investigation without any hindrance.
"He [Ramaphosa] believed that with Mr Fraser out of the SSA, the inspector-general could resume his investigation and the SSA could investigate the veracity of Mr Fraser's allegations against him."..