Johannesburg – Acting National Police Commissioner Khomotso Phahlane has confirmed that three men have been arrested in Mamelodi in connection with a break-in at the office of Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng.
On Saturday morning, 15 laptops containing sensitive information on Constitutional Court judges and officials were stolen from Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng’s offices in Midrand.
Phahlane confirmed that the arrests took place over the past few days and one person with critical information was still at large.
"We believe that we have seized the getaway vehicle used during the burglary and we cannot say that this was an inside job as the three men arrested were not staff members.
"We can't tell what the motive is at this stage. All that we know is that there was criminal activity but further investigations may reveal that motive," he said.
Police voiced that they were concerned that there was a security breach.
Phahlane stressed that the outcry over the burglary was justified but "making baseless allegations against leaders in the government does not help the situation".
"CCTV footage is a subject of further investigation and we will continue to process this information.
"The three men will appear in the in Mamelodi Magistrates Court today and we expect to make more arrests as the case progresses.
"We are appealed to anyone with information to come forward," he added.
The Council of the Law Society of the Northern Provinces commended the swift arrests but said it was "concerned that the removal of the computer equipment may possibly have resulted in some confidential information relating to the administration of justice having been obtained".
"Attacks of this nature on the judiciary is a serious matter and measures will hopefully be taken to prevent a similar occurrence in future," it said in a statement.
Office of the Chief Justice spokesman Nathi Mncube said they were "encouraged by the arrests" that have been made.
Mncube reiterated that the information that was on the 15 stolen computers cannot be disclosed.
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