A man was arrested late on Monday after a break-in at Eastern Cape premier Phumulo Masualle’s office at the weekend.
Police had confirmed that the man, 24, was arrested at a house in Bhisho’s Mtati Drive after police received information from members of the public.
He is set to appear at the Zwelitsha magistrate’s court on Wednesday.
Some of the stolen items were recovered during the arrest.
Computers, hard drives and documents were stolen during a burglary at Masualle’s office in Bhisho at the weekend.
Both the police and office of the premier (OTP) spokesperson Sonwabo Mbananga on Monday confirmed that a case of burglary was reported at the Bhisho police station after it was discovered on Monday morning that a number of offices were broken into and items stolen.
Police spokesperson Captain Siphokazi Mawisa confirmed that laptops, desktop computers, hard drives and a cellphone were listed as some of the items stolen when police conducted their preliminary investigation on Monday morning.
Mbananga, who would not divulge details on the break-in, said police and OTP officials were hard at work to ascertain what other items might have been stolen.
He would not say who the offices belonged to or how many had been targeted.
A number of staff members at the OTP, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said three offices, a strongroom where sensitive documents are kept, and a library at the human resources development and strategic skills units were broken into.
The employees also told the Dispatch that a number of laptops, computers, hard drives, files with documents, a projector, a cellphone and tracksuits meant for top-achieving provincial pupils were found to have been stolen.
"The former and current offices of that unit’s senior manager were broken into, while the [office of the] unit’s general manager was also broken into.
“To find one’s way to these offices, one has to go through the personal assistants’ offices, but nothing was stolen there, as those who broke in seem to have known exactly what they were looking for,” said one employee.
Staff members at the affected units had temporarily been assigned space at other offices as police officers and forensic investigators were still busy combing the crime scene by lunchtime on Monday.
OTP Nehawu branch chair Loyiso Sobhili said the incident was “shocking” as there was 24-hour security.
“The premier’s office is a key point and we thought security was tight.
“Yet no one saw anything, leaving us very suspicious.
“We need to seriously upgrade our security, while we call on authorities to institute a high-level investigation.”
Sobhili revealed that the cameras at the OTP have not been working since July 2017 when a fire mysteriously broke out in a storeroom.
The storeroom had kept thousands of supply chain management documents which were in the process of being digitally scanned for archiving.
At the time, Mbananga confirmed that some of those documents formed part of Eastern Cape director-general Marion Mbina-Mthembu’s investigation into possible irregularities in government procurement.
The fire took place while Masualle was in Johannesburg attending an ANC national policy conference.
Two cleaners were arrested at the time for arson and attempted murder. However, their case was later withdrawn by the Zwelitsha Magistrate’s Court...