O’Sullivan denies being foreign agent in tense parliamentary hearing

Paul O’Sullivan used his appearance before parliament’s ad hoc committee on Tuesday to deny he is a foreign agent.

He also confirmed he trained President Cyril Ramaphosa as a police reservist in the late 1990s, a disclosure that placed him close to political influence in the inquiry set up to investigate the corrupt infiltration of the country’s criminal justice system.

The British-born forensic investigator appeared before the committee to answer to several charges, including claims by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

While O’Sullivan presented his testimony as a straightforward account of lawful migration and public service, MPs approached his evidence with scepticism, repeatedly testing whether his background aligns with the authority he has exercised within South African policing circles.

O’Sullivan told the committee that he relocated permanently to South Africa in 1989 after visiting the country for several years as a tourist and investor. He said he obtained permanent residence that year and later acquired South African citizenship in the mid-1990s. Claims that he arrived in the country as part of an intelligence operation were, he insisted, unfounded.

WATCH LIVE | Paul O’Sullivan appears before parliament’s ad hoc committee

His account of training Ramaphosa drew immediate and sustained attention from MPs, not only because of the president’s current position but also because of what it suggested about O’Sullivan’s access, authority and standing within policing structures during a politically sensitive transitional period.

Committee members questioned how O’Sullivan, then a police reservist without formal teaching qualifications, came to instruct reservists on constitutional matters — particularly someone who had played a central role in drafting the constitution itself. The episode became emblematic of broader concerns about the informal power O’Sullivan appeared to wield within law enforcement.

A central line of questioning concerned his possession of three citizenships — South African, Irish and British. O’Sullivan explained that he was born in the UK to Irish parents, entitling him to both Irish and British citizenship by birth, and that his South African citizenship followed years later after settling in the country. He rejected suggestions that multiple passports implied divided loyalties, stating that acting on behalf of a foreign government would be criminal.

Intelligence background

More contentious was his admission that he served in British military intelligence during the 1970s, working in counter-terrorism and counter-espionage. O’Sullivan maintained that this work was confined to Europe and did not involve Africa, the ANC or apartheid-era intelligence operations in South Africa. He also denied ever being part of MI6, distinguishing military intelligence from Britain’s foreign intelligence service.

EFF leader Julius Malema questioned whether this intelligence background could be separated from O’Sullivan’s later role in South Africa, particularly given long-standing allegations that he has exercised disproportionate influence over policing and oversight institutions.

Malema challenged inconsistencies between O’Sullivan’s affidavit and his oral testimony, arguing that parliament could not be expected to accept self-imposed limits on scrutiny.

The committee also examined O’Sullivan’s service as a reservist in the SAPS in 1990-2002. He cited detective training, work on serious crimes and recognition for arrest statistics in Joburg in the mid-1990s as evidence of substantive operational involvement. MPs, however, questioned whether this experience justified the prominence he later assumed as a forensic investigator and trainer.

Particular attention was paid to O’Sullivan’s claim that he lectured police reservists in the 1990s, including Ramaphosa. He told the committee that his teaching focused on constitutional principles, ethics and the bill of rights, and that Ramaphosa was later named Most Conscientious Student at the Houghton Reserve Police College.

MPs raised concerns that O’Sullivan held no formal teaching qualification and had limited police training at the time, especially given Ramaphosa’s role in drafting the constitution.

O’Sullivan acknowledged the absence of formal qualifications but argued that none were required at the time. He said his objective was practical: to ensure that reservists understood constitutional limits on police power. He added that he later completed vocational training to improve his instructional skills.

The hearing became increasingly tense when O’Sullivan sought to restrict questioning on aspects of his pre-1990 activities and business interests, citing security concerns and alleged attempts on his life.

MPs rejected this approach, warning that a witness could not dictate the scope of a parliamentary inquiry.

Committee chair Soviet Lekganyane ruled that the committee retained full authority to ask relevant questions, subject only to genuine safety considerations.