Parliament wants the culprit who broke into the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and made off with a laptop and documents to face the wrath of the law.
“We have no doubt that the identified culprit will be brought to book soon,” Parliament’s spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said yesterday.
“Parliament is a national key point and a stern message must be sent by our criminal justice system through harsh actions against such criminal elements,” Mothapo said.
He made the comments following media reports at the weekend, that an office in the NCOP building was broken into last Monday.
The break-in took place against the backdrop of similar incidents at state institutions such as the Office of the Chief Justice, the Hawks and an office of a prosecutor this year.
Mothapo said the culprit in the NCOP break-in was caught on CCTV footage.
“There is camera video footage that shows an intruder who went through the building... and stole a computer and some documents. That footage has been given to the police for investigation‚” he said.
Mothapo said measures were in place to ensure there was no breach of security.
“Parliament’s security remains on high alert, hence our surveillance system is capable of detecting and identifying such unlawful acts swiftly for a speedy resolution by the police.”
This was the fourth break-in in Parliament in a period of two years.
In April, the SABC’s offices were broken into and computers were stolen.
The offices of the languages service division were also broken into.
The EFF office also fell victim of a break-in in July 2015.