R1m stolen from Cele's house - report

June 18 2010 at 10:45AM Get IOL on your
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Mystery surrounds claims that a large amount of cash - said to total at least R1-million - was stolen from the Durban home of police boss Bheki Cele at the end of March, the Mail & Guardian reports.

Cele has reportedly denied the allegation. "It's not true that there was a burglary at my house recently," he told the weekly newspaper, adding there had not been a burglary at his home since 2006 when laptops and CDs were stolen.

Cele, who was KwaZulu-Natal Minister for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison at the time, told Independent Newspapers that he had been attending a late meeting when he received a call from a family member informing him that his home had been burgled.

"When I arrived home I found that my house had indeed been broken into. The burglars gained entry through the front door," he said.

It was not clear whether there were security guards at the house when the incident took place. Among the items taken were a television, laptop, music system, glasses and money.

"I don't know at this stage what the value of the stolen items is, but I know that my music system alone cost me around R20 000," he said.

Political parties at the time said the burglary was proof that crime was out of control.

"If the ANC government needed proof that crime is out of control in South Africa, they got it when Cele's home was burgled. The message of Cele's burglars is clear: no one is exempt. The vulnerability of a ministerial home shows that we all are potential victims of crime," said the IFP's Lionel Mtshali.

The rumour of the recent theft, according to the Mail & Guardian, is rife in security circles in KwaZulu-Natal.

The weekly newspaper reports that police and VIP protection unit sources said that millions of rands disappeared from Cele's home in Umhlanga. One police source put the figure as high as R5-million.

They said that the incident happened around March 31, a few weeks before Cele paid lobola for his fiancee, Thembeka Ngcobo. - IOL reporter

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Comments by Sonny

Does this protector need more protection?

Who ever said that crime is out of control in SA?