Outrage, condemnation over justice offices break-in

Outrage at the brazen breakin at Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng’s offices in Johannesburg continued to escalate yesterday.

Parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said parliament was disturbed by the news of the break-in. “Such acts of criminality must be a source of grave concern and shock to those who value our constitutional democracy and its attendant sacrosanct structures, which are its lifeblood.

“Criminality of this nature not only undermines the functioning of our judicial system, which serves as the foremost interpreter and implementer of our country’s laws and the constitution, but also attacks our shared values as a nation. Parliament urges the police to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the perpetrator/s of this act face the full might of the law,” he said.

National Assembly justice and correctional services committee chairman Mathole Motshekga said the committee was outraged at this type of criminality. “This is a direct attack on our judiciary, judicial system and our hard-fought democracy.”

The ANC called for a collaborative effort across all law enforcement agencies to bring to account those responsible.

“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,” said ANC national spokesperson Zizi Kodwa.

The Democratic Alliance’s Glynnis Breytenbach condemned the incident: “This is an attack on our judiciary which we must all condemn in the strongest terms. The DA will be submitting parliamentary questions as to why there wasn’t adequate security at the office of the chief justice, which allowed for the break-in to occur.”

The South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) national spokesperson, Jabu Mahlangu, said the theft was a mockery of the criminal justice system and an affront to democratic institutions.

“Theft of guns from police stations and computers from the office of the chief justice suggest that crime in our communities has reached unacceptable and alarming proportions. If criminality is not stamped out, we will next hear of robbery at the Union Buildings,” he said.

The Save South Africa campaign believed it was no coincidence that the “burglary” took place just a day after the courts dealt two embarrassing blows against those “intent on undermining our democracy”.