'Inside-job' burglary surprises Mbalula

June 29 2010 at 07:12AM Get IOL on your
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By Moshoeshoe Monare

Deputy Police Minister Fikile Mbalula's home in his fortified official Pretoria residence was burgled at the weekend in what is believed to be an inside job.

Six months ago, the private home of the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Thandi Tobias-Poloko, was broken into - three months after a mysterious theft of R1 million cash at Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele's house.

But Cele has denied reports of a theft at his Durban home.

The Pretoria News understands that several expensive appliances, including an LCD TV, were taken from Mbalula's Waterkloof official residence while the deputy police minister was busy with ANC work in Cape Town.
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He returned to Pretoria yesterday.

Mbalula had just moved his belongings to the house last week. He and his family had not yet moved in.

A government official said a Public Works official and the police went to the house yesterday to finalise security installations and found the gate was damaged.

They alerted police.

Mbalula's communications aide, Paena Galane, confirmed the incident, but declined to give more details.

"We have left the matter in the hands of the Brooklyn police," he said.

Brooklyn police spokeswoman Captain Collette Weilbach could not be reached for comment.

However, it is understood that Mbalula's office and the police suspected an inside job.

The Pretoria News understands that the guardhouse at the gate was not staffed by the police as required at ministers' and deputy ministers' homes. It is believed that an internal probe will be conducted.

An insider, however, said: "The police didn't do their job.

"How else do you explain such a (theft) at the house of the police deputy minister... whose home is supposed to have 24-hour security surveillance? Where were the police at the guardhouse?"

Mbalula - the second in command of the police - is one of the few heavily guarded deputy ministers, given his security portfolio.

Ironically, Mbalula has defended his men and women in blue for their success in combating crime and is credited for innovating the crime-prevention slogan wanya tsotsi (thugs will s*** themselves).

He, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa, and Cele worked diligently to improve South Africa's image for the World Cup by deploying more police officers in an attempt to contain crime.

Meanwhile, Tobias-Poloko confirmed that her garden chairs were stolen from her Bloemfontein private home soon after intelligence officers had warned her.

"My house was broken into early in January. Police (and the National Intelligence Agency) did necessary assessments before (the burglary)... and the report came to a conclusion that my house was not safe.

The Star

Comments by Sonny

Welcome to the land of crime, Mr Mbalula!

Look around your and see who could have committed this 'inside