Xenophobia rears ugly head at public hearing on controversial spy bill in Limpopo

The first public hearing on the controversial General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill (GILAB) descended into expressions of xenophobia in Musina on Monday, with no mention of the bill's provisions.

The bill follows the recommendations of the Presidential High-Level Review Panel on the State Security Agency (SSA), which was chaired by former minister Sydney Mufamadi, and the State Capture Commission, chaired by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

The panel found the SSA "had largely become a parallel intelligence structure serving a faction of the ruling party and, in particular, the personal political interests of the sitting president of the party and country".