DA strongly condemns break-in at Hawks Head Office
5 July 2017
The DA condemns in the strongest terms the break-in at the Hawks Head Office this morning, where several computers were reportedly stolen from the Human Resources, Finance and Supply Chain departments.
Police Minister, Fikile Mbalula, must let the nation know what actions are being taken to find out who was responsible for the break-in and what contingencies are being put in place to stop similar incidents from happening. It should be one of the Minister’s priorities to ensure that in the future, this independent organised crime fighting unit is protected from all acts of intimidation, threats and attacks.
This incident is unprecedented in the history of the Hawks and it is probably not a coincidence that this shocking development takes place in the run-up to the most high-stakes ANC elective conference of the last 23 years. Seen in this light, it is quite likely that this break-in was a politically-motivated act as part of ANC factional fighting that is playing out in a public sector arena that is meant to be insulated from politics.
It is clear that there is a growing culture of intimidation in South Africa which is gravely concerning in a constitutional democracy like ours. There is a clear trend at the moment that those who speak out or take a stand against corruption are being targeted.