STATEMENT OF THE ANC ON BREAK IN AT OFFICES OF THE CHIEF JUSTICE

18 March 2017

The African National Congress (ANC) has learnt with shock of a burglary at the Office of the Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa in Midrand, Johannesburg in the early hours of this morning. 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.

The African National Congress has always held the view that one criminal act, regardless of against whom it is perpetrated, is one too many. Targeting the Office of the Chief Justice however is a direct assault on the sanctity of the institutions we, as South Africans, hold dear as propping up our Constitutional order. All people in South Africa are entitled to live in safety and free from crime. South Africans also want a strong, robust criminal justice system in which they have the fullest confidence in.

The cowardly act of breaking into the Offie of the Chief Justice is an affront on these aspirations and an attack on the very fibre of our democracy. The ANC therefore calls on law enforcement agencies to use all resources at their disposal to ensure that these criminals are dealt with to the full extent of the law. 

The ANC further calls on the Office of the Chief Justice to ensure that all its remaining information is secured and mitigate against any efforts to undermine or compromise the dispensing of justice as a result of the break in. 

Now is not the time to seek to infer to the break-in its motives nor is it time to play to the gallery of conspiracy theories. What is required is for a collaborative effort across our law enforcement agencies, sparing no effort and with the full support and confidence of our people, to make those responsible to account. Any persons with information relevant to this matter is urged to report such to the authorities.

Statement issued by Zizi Kodwa, ANC National Spokesperson, 18 March 2017