Cape Town - The Democratic Alliance has called on the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) to thoroughly investigate "crime being planned out of Luthuli House".
The headquarters of the African National Congress has been embroiled in a scandal involving one of its employees who appeared in court earlier this week for allegedly running cash-in-transit heists in Soweto township.
On Thursday, national DA spokesperson Solly Malatsi said the party had requested a full and thorough investigation.
"We call on the Head of the Hawks to prioritize this investigation, without fear or favour, and to move on Luthuli House as early as today," Malatsi said.
Malatsi said the accused man could not have run the heists "only in his spare time" and had so far been linked to three heists.
"The DA also calls on the ANC to immediately hand over all computer and electronic equipment of the cash-heist suspect employee, Mr. Present, to the police for investigation. In order to expose the rot of crime at Luthuli House, the ANC must hand over Mr. Present’s computers, e-mails, telephones, telephone records and hard drives."
Present was arrested with three other suspects two weeks ago after a group of armed men attacked security guards who were loading cash into an ATM in Soweto. Police said explosives were used to bomb the ATM to access the cash. One of the guards was injured in the attack.
In a statement on Wednesday, the ANC said it was dismayed by the fact that one of its employees was arrested and appeared in court allegedly for involvement in serious crimes.
"Crime remains a serious cancer in our young democracy, and we must continue to fight it in whatever of its manifestations," the ANC said.