THE Amalinda home of ANC Youth League chairman and boxing promoter Ayanda Matiti was burgled early on Saturday morning and goods valued at R100000 stolen.
At the time of the incident Matiti and his family had been sleeping.
Matiti said the suspects gained entry through a locked sliding door and once inside they closed a door leading to his bedroom to minimise noise.
They then proceeded to the lounge where they attempted to steal his flat screen plasma television mounted on the wall.
When they failed to remove it, the suspects searched the lounge and stole a designer bag belonging to Matiti’s wife which contained a cellphone, identity document, driver’s licenc e and bank cards.
Other items stolen from the house included a laptop, an iPad, Matiti’s Tag Heuer wristwatch valued at R35000, a playstation game and electric heaters.
He said the combined value of stolen items was estimated at R100000.
The incident comes a week after Cambridge police station commander Brigadier Alex Sofute said he was having sleepless nights over escalating incidents of residential burglaries in his policing area, which includes Amalinda.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday, Matiti said he believed the burglary was a random act of crime and did not have anything to do with his life as a public figure and businessman.
“However I am not leaving anything to chance,” he said. “Besides the police I also have my guys on the ground looking into the matter.
“Can you imagine what could have ensued had I woken up .”
He said his sons had woken him up and alerted him to the incident .
“There was more than one person in the house because there were a lot of muddy footprints in the lounge. The guys were brave because they were aware that I was in the house,” he said.
Cambridge police confirmed the incident and said they were investigating a case of burglary. No arrests have been made.
Matiti said the incident was a wake up call to police to strengthen their crime fighting mechanisms.
“We cannot be living in a society where people are being robbed and have the perpetrators go unpunished,” he said.
A police task team aimed at eradicating house break-ins in the Cambridge policing area was established earlier this year.
This came after several incidents where residents’ homes were broken into and items likes flat screen TVs were stolen.
Between March and April police said they had arrested 15 suspects in connection with home burglaries. —
Matiti’s EL house burgled
At the time of the incident Matiti and his family had been sleeping.
Matiti said the suspects gained entry through a locked sliding door and once inside they closed a door leading to his bedroom to minimise noise.
They then proceeded to the lounge where they attempted to steal his flat screen plasma television mounted on the wall.
When they failed to remove it, the suspects searched the lounge and stole a designer bag belonging to Matiti’s wife which contained a cellphone, identity document, driver’s licenc e and bank cards.
Other items stolen from the house included a laptop, an iPad, Matiti’s Tag Heuer wristwatch valued at R35000, a playstation game and electric heaters.
He said the combined value of stolen items was estimated at R100000.
The incident comes a week after Cambridge police station commander Brigadier Alex Sofute said he was having sleepless nights over escalating incidents of residential burglaries in his policing area, which includes Amalinda.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday, Matiti said he believed the burglary was a random act of crime and did not have anything to do with his life as a public figure and businessman.
“However I am not leaving anything to chance,” he said. “Besides the police I also have my guys on the ground looking into the matter.
“Can you imagine what could have ensued had I woken up .”
He said his sons had woken him up and alerted him to the incident .
“There was more than one person in the house because there were a lot of muddy footprints in the lounge. The guys were brave because they were aware that I was in the house,” he said.
Cambridge police confirmed the incident and said they were investigating a case of burglary. No arrests have been made.
Matiti said the incident was a wake up call to police to strengthen their crime fighting mechanisms.
“We cannot be living in a society where people are being robbed and have the perpetrators go unpunished,” he said.
A police task team aimed at eradicating house break-ins in the Cambridge policing area was established earlier this year.
This came after several incidents where residents’ homes were broken into and items likes flat screen TVs were stolen.
Between March and April police said they had arrested 15 suspects in connection with home burglaries. —
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos