Durban - Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs minister Zweli Mkhize's has refuted claims there was a raid at his Pietermaritzburg house at the weekend.
Following numerous reports on the "raid", Mkhize said he received calls and messages from his concerned family and friends.
In a statement issued by the ministry, Mkhize said he and his wife, May, were in Gauteng on Friday night when a neighbour notified them about activity outside the gate of his home in Willowfountain.
"It appeared to them that some law enforcement authorities were engaging with our security guard who mans the gate. We then immediately contacted the security guard at the gate to establish what was going on," he said.
The guard told him that there were gentlemen who had advised that they were from the National Intervention Unit for Rhino Poaching and Political Killings.
Mkhize said he spoke to a member from the unit, Lieutenant Colonel Tsikelele who told him they were conducting spot checks on the security company by checking their compliance and to verify that all firearms belonging to the company were properly registered.
"Colonel Tsikelele also assured me that they did not need to come into my house. In fact, they had been brought to the gate by the security company owners as they had informed them that some of their employees who are in possession of firearms were on duty at our house, manning the gate," Mkhize said.
According to Mkhize, the intervention team also advised that they had no search warrant to his house and had no intention to do so other than to process compliance documents with the guards at the gate.
"Colonel Tsikelele further indicated that some of the guards were to be taken to the police station as they didn’t have some required permits with them. They were however released from custody on Monday, 31 September with no charges being laid against them,"Mkhize said.
He said he has since requested the security company to keep him posted on developments as it was in their household’s interest and safety to ensure that there are no security breaches "but also to be guarded by a company that fully complies with all legal requirements".
"It must be emphasized that the police have never linked me or my family with any wrongdoing. There was also no raid or search of our house other than the collection of weapons and guards taken for processing in the police station. Similarly no one was hurt or property damaged. Furthermore, the police did not mention searching for or finding illegal weapons or any direct link with any of the weapons to illegal activities as it has been regrettably reported by some media houses," he said.
Mkhize added that he supported the investigations by police to solve the challenge of crime, political killings and the ultimate elimination of all violence especially in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.