Johannesburg -
Thieves have broken into the law firm of prominent Joburg lawyer Zola Majavu and made off with valuable goods, including some of his clients’ legal documents.
The thieves also stole a company car, which was later found abandoned at a picnic spot in Fun Valley, south of Joburg.
Majavu, a former PSL chief executive, represented Patrick Ndlovu, an accused in AWB leader Eugene Terre’Blanche’s murder case.
Majavu said on Tuesday he was asleep when police called him at about 1.25am to tell him they had found his car near Fun Valley.
The car had branding on the bodywork and Majavu told police the company cars were all accounted for when he left his office at about 10pm that night.
“I had locked the office myself, and I know that when I left, everything was in order.
“But the police told me that everything about the abandoned car looked suspicious and suggested that I go to the office to check because that is where the car was taken,” he said.
Majavu said the thieves had removed roof tiles and gained entrance through the ceiling.
The thugs had ransacked the office. He said they had deactivated the CCTV cameras and had taken the back-up machine.
They had also stolen six plasma screen televisions mounted on walls, one of which was a CCTV camera monitor.
Also stolen were two desktop computers, two laptops and a microwave oven.
“They took a lot of stuff I use for work, even my dictaphone.
“Most importantly, they also took my court bag which [contained] my clients’ documents and my [court] gown.
“I have back-up copies for some documents, but [for] others I don’t because I had just got them from clients. I will have to ask them for copies of those documents if they have.
“I was supposed to go to the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court in the morning as I had a case there, but could not go,” he said.
Majavu said he did not know what to make of the incident, nor did he have any idea on who had broken into his office and what the motivation was.
“All I know is that they were very precise, judging by how they broke in,” he said.
Speaking to SABC radio on Tuesday morning after hearing the news, Majavu said what hurt most was the fact that the stolen court bag held sentimental value to him as his late mother had given it to him on his graduation.
Constable Sibongile Mnguni of the Mondeor police station confirmed that a business burglary case had been opened. - The Star