DA objects as National Assembly adopts RICA Amendment Bill

Despite legislators' misgivings, the National Assembly passed the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-related Information Act (RICA) to ensure, among other things, that journalists' sources and lawyers' communication with their clients remain confidential, with only the DA objecting.

The bill, necessitated by a ruling of the Constitutional Court, spent hardly two months with the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services after the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development introduced the bill late to the national legislature.

The bill had its genesis on 4 February 2021, when the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism, confirming a Gauteng High Court ruling deeming parts of RICA unconstitutional.