Chief Justice office robbery: DA demands answers from Phahlane on ‘bogus’ arrests

23 March 2017

The DA will request that the Acting National Police Commissioner, Khomotso Phahlane, be summoned urgently to brief the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services to account for the seemingly bogus arrests in relation to the break-in at the office of the Chief Justice on the weekend.

Yesterday, Phahlane announced that three arrests had been made in relation to the break-in. Yet, according to media reports, it appears that the arrests had nothing to do with the break-in.

One of the three suspects was released yesterday as there were no charges against him, and the charge sheets for the other two suspects contained no mention of the break-in.

The DA views this burglary as a brazen attack on the Judiciary, the timing of which is highly suspicious considering the damning judgement handed down by the Constitutional Court in the social grants crisis the previous day.

This act must therefore be treated with the seriousness it deserves yet the police seem content to go after the small guys when they should focus on getting to the bottom of who was behind the break-in.

The DA has already requested that the Ministers of Police, State Security and Justice urgently appear before the Portfolio Committee to account for the robbery. Phahlane must now join them so we can get the full picture on what is being done to address this attack on the very foundations of our democracy.

What is also of concern is the fact that the personal information of 250 Judges was stolen, putting their security at risk. The DA will therefore also request an update from the respective Ministers, as to what is being done to ensure the safety of the affected judges.

The Justice Portfolio Committee has an opportunity to meet next week, given that all meeting this week were cancelled at the last minute.

The DA urges the Chairperson of the Committee to address this matter with urgency and summon the relevant Ministers so that we can properly deal with this very serious attack.

Issued by Glynnis Breytenbach, DA Shadow Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, 23 March 2017