The Defence Intelligence Division of the

South African National Defence Force The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) comprises the armed forces of South Africa. The Chief of the SANDF is appointed by the President of South Africa from one of the armed services. They are in turn accountable to the Minister of ...

(SANDF-ID also known as Defence Intelligence) is the primary

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy obj ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

which came into being on 27 April 1994. The other

intelligence agencies An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of inf ...

of the country are: *The National Intelligence Co-Ordinating Committee (NICOC) *The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) *The

South African Secret Service The South African Secret Service (SASS) was the previous name of a South African intelligence agency. Currently, it is known as the Foreign Branch of the State Security Agency. It is responsible for all non-military foreign intelligence and fo ...

(SASS) *The

Crime Intelligence Division The Crime Intelligence Division of the South African Police Service is an intelligence agency that tracks criminal elements within the Republic of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Af ...

of the

South African Police Service The South African Police Service (SAPS) is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1,154 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the Provinces of South Africa, provincial borders, and a Provincial Commis ...

(SAPS)

History

Early years (1910-1961)

The

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

originally did not possess an independent intelligence service within the Union Defence Force (it was a dominion of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

, and therefore received its intelligence from

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

.) In 1937, the Directorate Operations and Intelligence was formed within the UDF. 20 years later, in February 1957, on the instruction of Defence Minister

Frans Erasmus François Christiaan Erasmus (19 January 18961 July 1967) was a South African National Party politician and Minister of Defence from June 1948 to 1959 as well as Minister of Justice from 1959 to August 1961. Early life He was born on 19 Janua ...

it became fully responsible for the collection and interpretation of military intelligence.

Expansion of intelligence capabilities (1961-1994)

The intelligence section on 1 July 1962 was elevated to directorate status and was known as the Directorate Military Intelligence (DMI). After the establishment of the State Security Committee in 1963, DMI together with the

Department of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

and the

, served on this committee. On 1 January 1968, the formation of the South African Military Intelligence Corps took place, being authorized on 2 February 1968. In 1970 it became Military Intelligence Division (MID) and a year later, cam under the leadership of the Director-General Military Intelligence. On 15 April 1974, DGMI became the Chief Staff Intelligence (CSI) directly responsible to Commander of the

South African Defence Force The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Fo ...

. The Intelligence Centre for the purpose of training was also set up at the former

Radcliffe Observatory Radcliffe Observatory was the astronomical observatory of the University of Oxford from 1773 until 1934, when the Radcliffe Trustees sold it and built a new observatory in Pretoria, South Africa. It is a Grade I listed building. Today, the buil ...

. On 2 November 1983 the Centre was accorded unit status and was designated the South African Military Intelligence College.

Post-apartheid

Chiefs of Defence Intelligence

Source:

Chief Intelligence Officer

* Col. M. "Thuys" J. Uys (2 February 1961-22 December 1961)

Director Military Intelligence

* Brig Pierre Mauritz Retief (23 December 1961-2 January 1966) * Maj. General F. W. Loots (3 January 1966-18 July 1971)

Chief of Staff Intelligence

* Lt. General H. de V. du Toit (19 July 1971-26 September 1977) * Maj. General I. Lemmer (27 September 1977-14 June 1978) * Lt. General P. W. van der Westhuizen (15 June 1978-30 June 1985) *

Vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

A. P. Putter (1 July 1985-31 March 1989) * Lt General R. Badenhost (1 April 1989-30 November 1991) * Lt. General C.P. van der Westhuizen (1 December 1991-31 March 1994)

Chiefs of Defence Intelligence

* Lt Gen D.R. Verbeek (1 April 1994-1999) * Lt Gen M.M. Motau (1999-2009) * Lt. General

Abel Shilubane Lieutenant General Abel Shilubane (born 1952), is a retired South African Army general who served as Chief of Defence Intelligence from 2010 to 2012. Military career He served in the uMkhonto we Sizwe in exile and after the 1994 elections, h ...

(2011-2012) * Lt. General Jeremia Mduduzi Nyembe (2013-) * Lt. General Thalita Mxakato (1 June 2021-present)

References

1994 establishments in South Africa Military of South Africa South African intelligence agencies Military intelligence agencies Military units and formations established in 1994 {{SouthAfrica-mil-stub