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 commander 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 ...

(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. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

intelligence agency 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 informa ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

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 informatio ...

of the country are: *The National Intelligence Co-Ordinating Committee (NICOC) *The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) *The South African Secret Service (SASS) *The Crime Intelligence Division 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 provincial borders, and a Provincial Commissioner is appointed in ea ...

(SAPS)

History

Early years (1910-1961)

The

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tran ...

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

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

, 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 1896 – 1 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 1 ...

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 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 F ...

. 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 ...

. 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

Chief Intelligence Officer

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

Director Military Intelligence

* Brig P. M. 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 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. General Abel Shilubane (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