Note to editors: Please find attached English soundbite by Michael Waters MPL.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) strongly condemns the Gauteng Department of e-Government’s attempt to pursue criminal charges against a university student, Joel Cedras, who discovered that sensitive personal information, including residents’ names, contact details, and GPS locations, was accessible through an unsecured database linked to the R269 million e-Panic Button application.
This came to light during a special joint meeting of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s (GPL) Portfolio Committees on e-Government and Community Safety on 5 October 2026.
The e-Government Department stated that it had contacted the South African Police Service (SAPS) about a criminal case. The SAPS reportedly advised that eVolve, as the system’s custodian, should open the case.
The DA demands that MEC for e-Government, Bonginkosi Dhlamini, publicly explain the basis for pursuing criminal charges and disclose whether a case has been registered. He must reconsider any complaint against Cedras and launch an independent investigation to determine how the security failure occurred and who should be held accountable.
It is absurd that instead of thanking the student for bringing the vulnerability to its attention and potentially protecting hundreds of thousands of residents, the department is determined to turn him into a criminal. The student exposed a security failure. He did not create it.
The Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) must stop directing its attention to the messenger. Instead, provide answers about the failures that put residents’ personal information at risk, starting by telling us how long the information was exposed and whether other unauthorised individuals accessed it.
South Africa needs young people with the skills and courage to expose government security failures. Therefore, investigating them sends a concerning message: expose a government security failure and face persecution.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would recognise Cedras for exposing a serious security risk, protect residents’ personal information, and hold those responsible for security failures in government applications accountable.