Official linked to robbery

Municipal worker suspended after cellphones and tablets stolen

ASWITCHBOARD operator at the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality was suspended this week for her alleged involvement in the theft of new cellphones and tablets worth R327 000. The devices were stolen during an armed robbery at the city’s administration hub – the Lillian Diedericks Building – in December.

The items were meant for the newly elected councillors.

Two men entered the 12th floor of the building, pointed a gun at a senior corporate services official, tied her up and demanded the new “expensive phones” that were delivered earlier that day.

The municipality’s safety and security division believes the two men were tipped off by an insider about where the devices were being kept.

In the security division’s investigation report, seen by The Herald, it states that switchboard operator Nandipha Isaac was seen on CCTV footage acting suspiciously.

While she apparently claimed she was ill and was not at her workstation at the time of the robbery, the footage allegedly shows her talking to the two suspects before they entered the office where the items were being stored.

“Miss Nandipha Isaac interacted with the suspects more than two times according to the footage,” the investigation report states.

“[She] claimed that she accompanied a friend called Tummy during the robbery.

“It was [a] contradiction to the footage [which] showed Nandipha moving around the 12th floor.

“Miss Nandipha [is shown] following the suspects towards the [senior official’s] wing.”

Isaac had to undergo a lie detector test which the metro’s security division said she failed.

City manager Johann Mettler confirmed that a switchboard operator was suspended on Monday, but refused to divulge details.

When contacted for comment, Isaac said she could only speak to The Herald on Monday as she was busy with preparations for a funeral.

One of the men believed to have been involved in the robbery was arrested last month.

Police spokeswoman Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said: “A suspect was arrested in January and is currently in custody.

“The case is in court and the investigation is continuing.”