PRETORIA, March 22 (ANA) – Three suspects have been arrested for the break-in at the offices of the Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, and police are looking for a Mr Nkosinathi Msimango whom they believe can assist with their investigation, acting national police commissioner, Johannes Phahlane, said on Wednesday.
“The three suspects already in custody are expected to appear in court in Mamelodi today. They will face charges relating to other crimes they were positively linked to pending further investigation on this matter,” Phahlane told journalists in Pretoria.
“As the South African Police Service, we record our confidence in the criminal justice system and in particular the courts of this country. We believe that the seriousness of this crime and the stature of the Office of the Chief Justice will be considered in the further processing of the cases the apprehended people are linked to.”
Last Friday, 15 computers containing information of South African judges were stolen during the brazen burglary. The break-in caused much furore and speculation as to who was behind it.
“Within days of the commission of this crime, commendable progress has been made in the investigation following the unfortunate incident of the burglary,” said Phahlane.
“The multi-disciplinary team led by the Deputy Provincial Commissioner of Crime Detection in Gauteng, Major General Mary Motsepe, has been hard at work and their efforts culminated in the arrest [of the] three men in Mamelodi over the past few days.
“The team followed leads and information which resulted in operations being conducted on identified addresses in Mamelodi in search of the stolen equipment and the perpetrators of this crime.”
The acting national police commissioner said during the blitz, various items including unlicensed firearms and fake identity documents were seized during the operations.
“These items are considered evidential material which will be presented in court. We are also pleased to report that a vehicle which was possibly used as a getaway car during the commission of the crime has also been seized by our members,” said Phahlane.
“Further interviewing of those who were arrested revealed the identity of a person with critical information required to resolve the crime and the recovery of the stolen IT equipment.
“The South African Police Service is calling upon Mr Nkosinathi Msimango, who was in the vicinity of Mamelodi on the day of the arrests and, who has valuable information and insight into the commission of this crime to approach the investigating officer and/or report at the nearest police station to assist in this case.”
The police chief said the public outcry following the break-in was justified.
“The outcry and outrage of citizens over this incident is justified because brazen criminals targeted the office of the highest judicial officer in our country. However, our team’s speedy response to the crime and the thorough investigation of this crime will not go unnoticed, should be commended and recognised by all,” said Phahlane.
Phahlane, however, cautioned members of the public to avoid making unwarranted accusations. Numerous South Africans, including opposition party leaders have been accusing government officials, including Cabinet ministers of having a hand in the break-in.
“We call upon responsible citizens and leaders from all walks of life to take up their rightful positions and contribute positively and constructively in the fight against crime.
“Making baseless and unfounded allegations against any individual or leaders in government is not helpful during the course of investigations of crimes like that which manifested itself at the offices of the Chief Justice.
“Casting a shadow of doubt on the capability of the South African Police service to investigate any crime committed is not assisting,” said Phahlane.
“Anyone with credible information relating to this crime or any other crime must feel free to approach the investigating officers and deposit such information to enable the resolution of such crimes committed.”
Following the break-in, the police chief has sanctioned a security assessment for the purposes of advising on the enhancement of security at the offices of the Chief Justice.
– African News Agency (ANA)
