Johannesburg – A break-in occurred in the office of Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng located in Midrand in Johannesburg in the early hours of Saturday morning, Mogoeng's office said.
"During the commission of this criminal offence 15 computers were stolen in the office where the human resources and facilities units are located," spokesman Nathi Mncube said.
"The stolen computers contain important information about judges and officials of the OCJ and constitute a huge setback for the entire administration of justice."
The break-in was reported to the South African Police Service and various SAPS units were dispatched to the OCJ to conduct further investigations.
"Upon being informed of this crime the chief justice remarked that this must be viewed in a very serious light and the police ought to do everything in their power to ensure that the culprits are brought to book," Mncube said.
The African National Congress said on Saturday that a collaborative effort across all law enforcement agencies was needed to bring to account those responsible for the break-in.
The ANC had learnt with shock of "a burglary" at Mogoeng's offices in Midrand in the early hours of Saturday morning, ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa said. "This dastardly criminal act, targeting the office of the highest judicial officer in our country, should leave all South Africans outraged and our law enforcement officers determined to speedily find and bring to book its perpetrators," he said.
Kodwa said targeting the office of the chief justice was a "direct assault on the sanctity of the institutions we, as South Africans, hold dear as propping up our Constitutional order".
"South Africans wanted a strong, robust criminal justice system in which they had the fullest confidence. The cowardly act of breaking into the office of the chief justice is an affront on these aspirations and an attack on the very fibre of our democracy.
"The ANC therefore calls on law enforcement agencies to use all resources at their disposal to ensure that these criminals are dealt with to the full extent of the law." Now was not the time to "seek to infer to the break in, its motives, nor is it time to play to the gallery of conspiracy theories", he said.
"What is required is... a collaborative effort across our law enforcement agencies, sparing no effort and with the full support and confidence of our people, to make those responsible to account. Any persons with information relevant to this matter is urged to report such to the authorities," Kodwa said.