Demands committee members produce their devices for independent investigation
September 02, 2026 at 1:32 pm
Sarah-Jane Trent, former legal assistant to private forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan, has threatened legal action against a parliamentary ad hoc committee for allegedly leaking her personal and medical records to the public.
In a letter sent to the speaker of the National Assembly, Trent said after her appearance before the committee in March, she discovered her private records had been leaked on social media.
She indicated the leaked documents contained sensitive personal and medical information disclosed without her consent, describing the disclosure as unlawful and improper.
Trent had previously requested the committee strike her oral evidence from its records, citing severe post-traumatic stress disorder dating back to 2017, claiming it caused her to give evidence under duress. The committee dismissed her request.
During Wednesday’s committee meeting on consideration of the draft report, committee secretary Vhonani Ramaano read Trent’s letter into the official record.
Ramaano noted Trent warned the disclosure could give rise to criminal liability and indicated her intention to lay charges.
“She requests parliament to refer the disclosure for investigation and possible prosecution,” Ramaano said. “She also demanded parliament institute a formal investigation and take every reasonable step to preserve all records relating to the matter.”
Furthermore, Trent requested that parliament take appropriate disciplinary action against those involved, prevent any further dissemination of her statement, and report the findings of the investigation directly to her.
According to Ramaano, on receiving the letter, the speaker responded to Trent and referred the matter to the ad hoc committee for consideration. However, Trent wrote back to the speaker opposing the referral. She argued the committee could not be expected to investigate itself, as its own members are implicated and must be investigated for their conduct.
“An investigation by this committee will carry a reasonable apprehension of bias,” Ramaano quoted from Trent’s letter.
Trent demanded that an independent body or investigator handle her complaint. She also called for the immediate production of email and messaging records, and the devices of committee members and parliamentary officials.
She also demanded that every member who had access to her affidavit immediately surrender all copies without deleting or tampering with any records.
Members of the committee noted the letter, though representatives from the MK Party and the EFF dismissed her claims.
MK Party MP David Skosana labelled the demands as “white privilege”, stating: “This is white privilege. It’s madness. Someone telling us how parliament should conduct itself and accusing us is nothing but white privilege, which I thought we had buried.”
Committee chairperson Soviet Lekganyane ruled the committee would engage with the office of the speaker to determine the appropriate advisory path forward.
The parliamentary ad hoc committee has investigated allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system.
Read the original TimesLIVE story here.
View parliament’s response on YouTube here.